Harry J. Collins
Encyclopedia
Harry J. Collins was an Army
Major General
.
Graduate of the Western Military Academy
and University of Chicago
where, upon graduation in 1917, he received commission into the United States Army
and assigned to the 3rd Infantry Regiment.
Served in a variety of assignments in the US and overseas during World War I
, most notably on staff at the Infantry School
at Fort Benning
. In August 1942, was named assistant division commander of the 99th Infantry Division at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. In April, 1943, assumed command of the 42nd Infantry Division (the famed Rainbow Division) at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma.
In December 1944, the division arrived in France and played a major role in stopping the last German drive into Western Europe, known as the Battle of the Bulge
.
He was credited with the liberating of the Dachau concentration camp at the end of the war.
Following V-E Day, the 42nd assumed occupation duty in western Austria, with Collins serving as military governor. In July 1948, he was appointed commander of the 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis
, Washington, and later assumed command of New York-New Jersey area headquarters at Fort Totten
, New York.
In January 1951, he was assigned to command the 8th Division at Fort Jackson
, South Carolina. A year later he got assigned to the office of Military Attache in Moscow, USSR and then back to the US to command the 31st Infantry Division in Camp Atterbury
, Indiana.
He retired in 1954 and moved to Salzburg where he was an honorary citizen of Salzburg and Linz
, where many Dachau survivors were initially transported after the liberation of the camp, along with his wife Irene Gehmacher, who was Austrian. He died on March 8, 1963 and was buried at the Saint Peter's churchyard cemetery in Salzburg.
. The Prisoner of War
(POW) camp at Mauerkirchen, Austria also fell under the control of Collins and the 42nd Infantry Division.
This camp housed German
POWs – 30,000 women and 130,000 men. The German soldiers came largely from the Eastern Front
, including the 1st Mountain Division, and some from the remnants of the German Balkan
Army. The many women in the camp came from supply and communications units, as well as nursing units.
In early May 1945, Collins flew over the camp in his Piper Cub liaison plane, and told the POWs via loudspeaker that he would discharge them as soon as he could find newsprint
to print discharge
papers. He also told them that he had no food to feed them and that discharge would depend on their good behavior. Collins managed to keep the camp in good order without barbed wire
and without guards. His promise of an early release if the POWs kept within the limits of the camp was enough to make things work.
After ten days in camp, Collins began to process POWs
out, as per the Geneva Convention
. Collins had discharged 30,000 women, and perhaps 30,000 men, when U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower intervened, and ordered Collins to hand the remaining 100,000 POWs to the Soviets
.
In 1955, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer
went to Moscow
, to buy back the survivors of the camps in the Soviet Union
. Ninety-five percent of the German POWs that Collins was forced to turn over to the Soviets did not survive those ten years in captivity. Without Collins’ intervention ten years earlier, 60,000 additional POWs may have met this same fate.
, for furnishing their offices and quarters—items allegedly taken from Jewish families by the Nazis during the war. Many items were not returned to their original owners, who could not be located, but were later sold at auctions, with the proceeds used to aid war refugees.
on “GI Looting” during the Second World War.=
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Major General
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
.
Biography
He was born on December 7, 1895 in Chicago, Illinois.Graduate of the Western Military Academy
Western Military Academy
Western Military Academy was a private military preparatory school located in Alton,Il. Founded in 1879, Western Military Academy closed in 1971. The campus is located in the National Register of Historic Places District...
and University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
where, upon graduation in 1917, he received commission into the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and assigned to the 3rd Infantry Regiment.
Served in a variety of assignments in the US and overseas during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, most notably on staff at the Infantry School
United States Army Infantry School
The United States Army Infantry School is located in Fort Benning, Georgia. It is made up of the following components:*192d Infantry Brigade...
at Fort Benning
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
. In August 1942, was named assistant division commander of the 99th Infantry Division at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. In April, 1943, assumed command of the 42nd Infantry Division (the famed Rainbow Division) at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma.
In December 1944, the division arrived in France and played a major role in stopping the last German drive into Western Europe, known as the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
.
He was credited with the liberating of the Dachau concentration camp at the end of the war.
Following V-E Day, the 42nd assumed occupation duty in western Austria, with Collins serving as military governor. In July 1948, he was appointed commander of the 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis
Fort Lewis
Joint Base Lewis-McChord is a United States military facility located south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Joint Base Garrison, Joint Base Lewis-McChord....
, Washington, and later assumed command of New York-New Jersey area headquarters at Fort Totten
Fort Totten
Fort Totten may refer to:* Fort Totten, North Dakota* Fort Totten State Historic Site, a Dakota frontier-era fort and Native American boarding school* Fort Totten , a neighborhood, park and Civil War-era fort...
, New York.
In January 1951, he was assigned to command the 8th Division at Fort Jackson
Fort Jackson
Fort Jackson can refer to several places or things:*Fort Jackson , also called Fort Toulouse, a War of 1812 fort*Fort Jackson , a frontier trading post located near present-day Ione, Colorado...
, South Carolina. A year later he got assigned to the office of Military Attache in Moscow, USSR and then back to the US to command the 31st Infantry Division in Camp Atterbury
Camp Atterbury
Camp Atterbury, near Edinburgh, Indiana, USA, is a training base of the Indiana National Guard. It was planned just months before the U.S. entry into World War II. Originally surveyed and researched by the Hurd Company, the present site was recommended to Congress in 1941. Construction commenced...
, Indiana.
He retired in 1954 and moved to Salzburg where he was an honorary citizen of Salzburg and Linz
Linz
Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
, where many Dachau survivors were initially transported after the liberation of the camp, along with his wife Irene Gehmacher, who was Austrian. He died on March 8, 1963 and was buried at the Saint Peter's churchyard cemetery in Salzburg.
Humanitarian
At war’s end, Collins was assigned the US Military Governorship of AustriaAustria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. The Prisoner of War
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
(POW) camp at Mauerkirchen, Austria also fell under the control of Collins and the 42nd Infantry Division.
This camp housed German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
POWs – 30,000 women and 130,000 men. The German soldiers came largely from the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
, including the 1st Mountain Division, and some from the remnants of the German Balkan
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
Army. The many women in the camp came from supply and communications units, as well as nursing units.
In early May 1945, Collins flew over the camp in his Piper Cub liaison plane, and told the POWs via loudspeaker that he would discharge them as soon as he could find newsprint
Newsprint
Newsprint is a low-cost, non-archival paper most commonly used to print newspapers, and other publications and advertising material. It usually has an off-white cast and distinctive feel. It is designed for use in printing presses that employ a long web of paper rather than individual sheets of...
to print discharge
Military discharge
A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve.-United States:Discharge or separation should not be confused with retirement; career U.S...
papers. He also told them that he had no food to feed them and that discharge would depend on their good behavior. Collins managed to keep the camp in good order without barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
and without guards. His promise of an early release if the POWs kept within the limits of the camp was enough to make things work.
After ten days in camp, Collins began to process POWs
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
out, as per the Geneva Convention
Geneva Conventions
The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of the victims of war...
. Collins had discharged 30,000 women, and perhaps 30,000 men, when U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower intervened, and ordered Collins to hand the remaining 100,000 POWs to the Soviets
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
In 1955, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
went to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, to buy back the survivors of the camps in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Ninety-five percent of the German POWs that Collins was forced to turn over to the Soviets did not survive those ten years in captivity. Without Collins’ intervention ten years earlier, 60,000 additional POWs may have met this same fate.
Controversy
Recent writers have found fault with Collins and other officers who performed occupation duty after World War II, suggesting that they requisitioned luxury items, from the Hungarian Gold TrainHungarian Gold Train
The Hungarian Gold Train was the case of a Nazi-operated train during World War II that carried stolen valuables, mostly Hungarian Jewish persons' property, from Hungary towards Berlin in 1945...
, for furnishing their offices and quarters—items allegedly taken from Jewish families by the Nazis during the war. Many items were not returned to their original owners, who could not be located, but were later sold at auctions, with the proceeds used to aid war refugees.
Popular culture
Was featured on the History Channel's segment of History's MysteriesHistory's Mysteries
History's Mysteries is an American documentary television series on the History Channel.-Overview:The 154 episodes of the series were produced from 1994-2006. Each season consisted of 12 to 14 one-hour episodes that focused on historical events or subjects considered to be mysterious by the general...
on “GI Looting” during the Second World War.=