45th Infantry Division recognized on 80th anniversary of Dachau liberation

DACHAU, Germany — Eighty years to the day after the liberation of Dachau Concentration Camp, a memorial plaque was unveiled in honor of the 45th “Thunderbird” Infantry Division of the U.S. Seventh Army, April 29, 2025.

“We recognize the 45th Infantry Division’s heroism, their sacrifice, and their vital role in liberating Dachau,” said Dr. James Miller, Consul General at the U.S. Consulate in Munich. “Their actions here remind us that history lives in the choices we make; in the choice to speak out, to remember, and to stand against hatred in all its forms.”

This new commemorative plaque joins two others hanging in Dachau Memorial’s former Jourhaus passageway that are dedicated to U.S. liberators: the 42nd “Rainbow” Infantry Division and 20th Armored Division.

“Let us honor their memory by upholding their legacy.”

Miller described the scene that greeted those U.S. Soldiers in 1945: a cold, snowy and sunny Sunday morning; a deserted death train from Buchenwald that had 39 wagons filled with more than 2,300 corpses; and 32,000 camp survivors, close to death themselves.

“It is an honor and a profound responsibility to stand with you today, exactly 80 years after American soldiers entered these gates of Dachau Concentration Camp and brought freedom to those who had nearly lost all hope,” Miller said.

Miller explained that the U.S. 42nd and 20th divisions have been formally recognized, but the 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, Seventh Army had not yet received this acknowledgment.

“They brought long-awaited freedom to the more than 32,000 people imprisoned,” said Karl Freller, director of the Bavarian Memorial Foundation. “We are forever grateful to these brave American Soldiers.

“It is a day that reminds us that struggle against the most endless oppression, boundless injustice and the cruelest crimes was not in vain,” Freller said in German. “And it gives us hope that this is always worthwhile, again and again, to take up the fight for a just cause.

“I thank the United States of America from the bottom of my heart, whose Soldiers liberated the survivors of this concentration camp 80 years ago at great risk to their lives,” he said. “Let us work together to keep the memory of the liberators and the victims alive. May this plaque be a symbol of honorable remembrance and courageous hope.”

Dachau opened in 1933. By April 1945, Dachau had imprisoned more than 200,000 people from 38 nations. Approximately 41,500 people died there.

“Today, we solemnly remember and commemorate the liberation of Dachau. We honor the 45th Infantry Division as we’ve already honored the 20th and the 42nd divisions that liberated Dachau as part of Seventh Army; 29 April 1945,” said Brig. Gen. Steven Carpenter, commander, 7th Army Training Command, while standing a few feet from the gate that still bears the metal inscription “Arbeit macht frei.”

“All prisoners forever changed,” he said. “All liberators forever changed, 80 years ago today.”

Carpenter encouraged the crowd to remember the past and learn from it, while also acknowledging the strong international relationships that grew out of previous conflict.

“Today, the relationship between Bavaria and the U.S. is a foundation stone for the type of relationship that we want with every state — every nation — not just in Europe, but globally,” he said. “And if you’re here today, you’re a huge part of the reason why.”

As the quiet evening hours progressed, the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Band played, Soldiers in 7ATC's Joint Multinational Readiness Center served as the color guard, students in the Bavarian International School in Munich recited life stories of the survivors, and representatives of the Oklahoma Army and Air National Guard mingled in the crowd on the Memorial grounds.

The newly unveiled plaque contains inscriptions in English, French and German to officially name the 45th Infantry Division as participants in the Dachau liberation and memorialize the Dachau victims. Continuing to make positive impacts on the world and standing together will help honor both the victims and liberators, Carpenter said.

“I truly believe that the opportunity that lies ahead of us is no different than the generations that came before us,” he told the attendees. “Through our actions, our light will banish what remains of the darkness. Our love will ultimately prevail over hate, and good will ultimately triumph over evil.”