The 45th Infantry Division
is recognized as a liberating
unit of Dachau by the
United
States
Holocaust Memorial Museum and the
U. S. Army Center of Military History.
The first photos were taken by by
T/4
Arland B.
Musser, 163rd
Signal Photographic Company, Seventh
Army.
PFC Felix A. Cizewski was in the
45th
Signal Company at that time. On April 29th, the day of
liberation, the 45th Signal Compnay was moving from Schrobenhausen
about 39 miles (63 kilometers) by road north of Dachau to Haimhausen,
about 8 miles (13 kilometers) by road northeast of Dachau. On
April 30th, the day after liberation, the 45th Signal Company moved to
Feldmoching, Munich, about 7 1/2 milies (12 kilomters) by road
southeast of Dachau.
Felix would have had the opportunity to visit Dachau. As he was fluent
in Polish, he would have been
able to
converse with inmates.
The 45th Division was
stationed on occupation duty in
Munich area
near Dachau from May until
late July, 1945.
After
VE Day, May 8, 1945: General
Patton became military
governor of Bavaria, which included Dachau and the 45th Division, and
ordered that no charges be brought against the GIs involved in the
execution of guards
Felix never spoke of
Dachau before
his
death in 2004. Dachau meant something to him as he kept a copy of the
45th
Division News with
the report of the liberation and a photo of the
gate
to the SS camp.