Albert J Simon
Kentucky Post, Thursday, 28 June 1945, page 2
Cpl. Albert Simon, 27, son of Mr. and Mrs. Adam Simon Sr. of the
Alexandria Pike, Cold Spring, who is with the First Army in Germany, confirmed
the authenticity of horror of German concentration camps that has been related
by returning newsmen and servicemen. In a letter to his sister, Miss Ruth Simon,
Cpl. Simon stated that during a 200 mile trip through Austria they came upon a
concentration camp which was "the most horrible place that he had ever seen."
"Right there, there were 4500 men and boys. Some of them were able to walk around but most of them were in beds on the verge of dying. The majority of them looked like human skeletons, nothing but skin and bones. One man who could speak English conducted us around the place. He showed us the furnace where 300 bodies were burned a day. Sometimes they were even burned alive. I looked inside the furnace and it was still piled up with human bones.
They told us that 7200 people had been destroyed in the furnace. Adjoining it was a gas chamber, where prisoners were forced to take a shower. Then the gas was turned on. In another room bodies were attacked. When I looked in there were six bodies lying there of persons who had died of starvation. About 400 persons were made to live in an old wooden building that ordinarily would hold but 60."
Cpl. Simon also described a trip down through the mountains to Berchtesgaden, Hitler's hideout. Despite the fact that most of it had been reduced to rubble, Cpl Simon said some vestiges of its beauty remained. Mr. and Mrs. Simon have three other sons in the service, Sgt. Rudolph Simon, 25, is hone on a furlough after being a prisoner of the Germans. Sgt. Simon, who was taken prisoner Dec 19, was in Lukenwald Camp when he was liberated May 22. Sgt. Adam L Simon of the Marines was home recently on 30 days leave after 27 1/2 months service in the Southwest Pacific and Harold Simon, 28 of Southgate is taking his boot training at Great Lakes Training Center.