Robert I. Kaplan papers

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 

Robert I. Kaplan’s parents were born in Lithuania, and he grew up in Camden, New Jersey. He was a medic and dentist who volunteered to join the United States Army in 1941. Robert married Beatrice Slutsky in January 1942, and their first daughter, Judy, was born in 1944. He was a medic in Company D of the 110th Medical Battalion attached to the 35th Infantry Division when he was sent to Europe in May 1944. They arrived in England, and by July his division was sent to Normandy, France. They remained in France until February 1945 when they went to Holland, The Netherlands and then on to Germany. After the war was over, he was transferred to Company D, 331st Medial Battalion attached to the 106th Division. He returned to the United States in September 1945. 

Robert I. Kaplan papers 

boxes oversize box 2 1 

The collection contains letters written by Captain Robert I. Kaplan, a medic in Company D of the 110th Medical Battalion attached to the 35th Infantry Division, to his wife Beatrice in Camden, New Jersey along with a small amount of photographs and issues of Stars & Stripes newspaper. His letters span May 1944 through September 1945 and describe daily army life, first in England, then France, Holland, and Germany. He describes his visit to the Dachau concentration camp in a letter dated 17 August 1945. Many letters also include enclosures primarily of clippings and pamphlets, and newsletters. He also enclosed copies of Stars & Stripes newspaper. Included is a non-sequential run from July 1944-March 1945. The photographs include depictions of Dachau; the barn massacre of prisoners at Gardelegen, Germany in April 1945; and Hitler’s bunker in Berchtesgaden, Germany. 

The collection is arranged as three series: Series 1: Correspondence, 1944-1945; Series 2: Photographs, 1944-1945; Series 3: Printed material, 1944-1945