Minnesota Liberators of Concentration Camps Oral History Project: Interview with William C. Landgren

Titles: Minnesota Liberators of Concentration Camps Oral History Project: Interview with William C. Landgren (Supplied title)

Description: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: William Landgren was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, graduated from Iowa State College with a degree in agronomy and went to work for Pioneer Hybrid Corn Company. In February of 1942, in his mid-twenties, he was drafted into the army, and after going through officers' training school he went overseas as a second lieutenant in 1943. After landing in England, he went to Africa and then was assigned to the 45th Division, which fought through Italy and then took part in the invasion of southern France. From there the division worked its way to Munich and was there when the war ended. Just before reaching Munich, Landgren passed through Dachau about an hour after its liberation and took some photos with a camera and film he had found during the war. A couple of weeks later, after the war had ended, Landgren's company was sent back toward Dachau and spend about a week living about half a mile from the camp. During that time he returned to the camp and took more photos. After the war Landgren returned to work at Pioneer and was stationed at several cities in the Midwest before settling in Willmar, Minnesota, in 1950. He retired from Pioneer in the early 1980s and continued to live in Willmar. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Landgren's first sight at Dachau, a train full of dead bodies; dead bodies outside the crematorium; people's reactions to the photos after the war; a Holocaust class organized by a Willmar school teacher; attitudes of German people today. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: Poor sound quality makes some of the recording hard to understand, particularly at the beginning.

Dates

• 01/26/1987 (Creation)

Creation

• interviewee: Landgren, William C.
• interviewer: Lewin, Rhoda G.

Identifiers

• Library Call Number: OH 52.6
• Accession Number: AV1996.48.6

Holding Type: Oral History - Interview

Project

• Oral History - Project, MHS Collection, project: 'Minnesota Liberators of Concentration Camps Oral History Project' <OH 52>

Quantity: 1.5 hours sound cassette 11 pages transcript

Format

• Content Category: sound recordings
• Content Category: text

Measurements

• 00:45:51 running time

Subjects

How can we help?

• Help / About Collections Online
• Learn about the Collections
• Contact the Gale Family Library for help with research, orders, and use/licensing
• Have feedback or comments on the new Collections Online system? Please fill in the Collections Online Feedback Form.