A new exhibit featuring materials from the World War II Dachau Concentration Camp trial are now on display on the third floor of Reese Library. The exhibit contains photographs and documents belonging to Col. John A. May, an Aiken attorney who served on the trial during World War II. The May Family has loaned their family’s collection to the Augusta University Libraries’ Special Collections for the semester for this exhibit and to be featured as a part of the Libraries’ Holocaust Lecture Series through the Spring.
The Dachau Concentration Camp was Germany’s first and longest-running concentration camp under Hitler’s Regime in World War II. In the 12 years of its operation, nearly 200,000 prisoners were incarcerated at Dachau and it is believed that at least 40,000 individuals died in the camp. After the war, the United States created a military tribunal to try the atrocities of war performed by the Nazis who operated Dachau. The exhibit discusses the proceedings of the Dachau Trial, including who was being tried, the crimes committed in the camp, and the final verdicts.
These materials will be displayed through the end of the spring term for visitors to see. Additional materials will be available for viewing at the final lecture in the Holocaust Lecture Series on March 19, Women’s Experiences of the Holocaust.
