Infantryman Harold A. Silverberg, of Cranston, who helped liberate the Ludwiglust concentration camp on May 8, 1945, wrote a poem about it:

The body of what used to be a man lies on its back in the dirt just outside a brick building. I can see but his head and chest. A dirty blanket hides whatever else is left. so little flesh remains, I cannot guess his age.

It is V - E Day! The War is Over! I should rejoice But I have come with Major Hall
To check this concentration camp
That we liberated yesterday.
A stench rises from within the building
We open a door
Now we see the source
Body piled upon body -- forty , fifty --
We cannot stay and count
We need to vomit but fight the urge
That sight and stench will never fade away.
How dare you tell me this never happened.