Duane Mahlen oral history interview

Oral history interview with Holocaust concentration camp liberator Duane Mahlen. Mahlen was a tank gunner in the 11th Armored Division, which liberated Mauthausen on May 6, 1945. His unit had been on the way to Linz when their major got a call about the camp and decided to see it, so they arrived a few hours after the camp was discovered. As they drove through the main gate, the first thing Mahlen saw were the stacked corpses. He walked all through the men\u27s and women\u27s sections but did not approach or speak to any of the prisoners. After the war ended, he stayed in Europe on occupation duty and was assigned to Flossenburg in December 1945, where he guarded SS officers waiting for trial. Mahlen has spoken to school children about Mauthausen and is an active member of the 11th Armored Division Association, of which he is a past president