Collection of photographs, letters and paper items, which belonged to Adrian Alloy, a member of the Belgian underground organization Armée Secrete ("The Secret Army"), who was caught and imprisoned at the Dachau concentration camp during World War II. Dachau and elsewhere, 1940-1945 (several items are from earlier or later years). French (one item is in German).
The collection includes:
• Handwritten note, dated on its upper margin 29.4.1945 (the day the camp was liberated), which was presumably written throughout the day. At first, Alloy describes the voices of war that were heard near the camp – "The Americans, whom we were told several days ago were located along the Danube, have already passed Augsburg… we can hear, with difficulty, the voices of battle"; later, the behavior of the SS officers in light of the upcoming defeat is documented: "Discipline, which was merciless only a short time ago, vanished into thin air. The German officer Alfonse [?], a unscrupulous thug, makes almost sweet eyes at us…", and toward the end of the note, there are several lines that were written, presumably, during the liberation: "the attack on the camp is expected soon… we can see it with our own eyes… the white flag is displayed on the entrance tower… the SS guards are raising white flags!". At the end of the note, there is a rare testimony of the act of revenge done by the Americans against the officers of the camp: "The shots are exploding, and shortly, the first American soldiers appear, rifles in their hands, pushing the SS ahead and immediately, without mercy, killing them without a trial".
• 35 photographs documenting the camp shortly after its release: SS soldiers surrendering to the American forces before the gate; American soldiers opening the door of a railroad car which served to "store" the victims; prisoners of the camp describing, stage by stage, the activity of the crematoriums to the Americans; a photograph of bodies of SS soldiers lying beside a concrete wall (after facing a firing squad?); bodies of SS soldiers that were thrown into the sewage; many photographs of victims and survivors; and more. Divided on verso to serve as postcards, most of them captioned by hand on verso (French).
• Three "signs of life" that Alloy sent to his family members in the days after the release of the camp: a short note from May 1, 1945 – the first announcement of his release, transferred, presumably, by one of his friends; a letter from May 3, 1945 with an additional announcement of his release and a more detailed account of his situation, sent by mail; an improvised "postcard" (a thick paper card, with the details of the addressee on verso), with a third announcement of his release and a promise to return to Brussels until the end of the month, dated May 7, 1945, with a stamp of the Red Cross.
• Three certificates that were given to Alloy after the war: a large, illustrated certificate issued by the Belgian underground organization Armée Secrete ["The Secret Army"], given on December 10, 1945 and indicating he was a member of the underground organization. Hand-signed by the commander of the "secret Army" Jules Pire. The illustration is signed (in the plate): James Thiriar, Lieutenant AS; two certificates issued by the Belgium Kingdom (Royaume de Belgique) – entitlement to bear a badge of political prisoners (given in 1948), and entitlement to bear a war medal (given in 1969).
• Fourteen letters, notes, certificates and additional paper items, documenting Alloy's activity in the Belgian underground organization and his life before and after the war: a list of names, typewritten and mimeographed, presumably of members of the underground organization who were under Alloy's command; a short letter by the commander of the military prison of the Wehrmacht, notifying a woman named Antoinette Alloy (Adrian Alloy's wife?) that the package she had sent him was "not demanded". 11.4.1943; an interesting, typewritten report describing the relationship of one of Alloy's acquaintances with the Nazis during the war (not dated); and more.
Enclosed: a paper envelope with a handwritten inscription: "Release of the Dachau Camp by the Americans on 29.4.1945. The pictures were taken by Belgian war correspondents…" (Possibly, the photographs in the collection or some of them were kept in this envelope).
A total of 56 items. Size and condition vary. Good overall condition.