Public Program United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Shortly after World War II, an American intelligence officer living in Germany made a surprising discovery—a personal album of photographs chronicling SS officers’ activities at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Taken between May and December 1944, these rare images of Nazis singing, hunting, and even trimming a Christmas tree provide a chilling contrast to the photographs of the thousands of Hungarian Jews who were sent to Auschwitz in the same period. Learn how this unique collection made its way to the Museum and the detective work undertaken to identify those pictured.

Featured Speaker

Rebecca Erbelding, Museum Archivist