Medical armband, approximately 1942-1945

The papers of Robert Schwartz, medical doctor and captain in the United States Army during World War II. As part of the liberation of Buchenwald, he documented the atrocities there in photographs and text. The collection contains photographs and documents reporting on the atrocities at Buchenwald concentration camp. Additional documents and artifacts reflect his service and movements during the war.

Black and white photographs and a 6-page letter written to his wife document what Schwartz saw at Buchenwald. Other photographs feature his service in Germany and are accompanied by a few taken in England, Belgium, France, and at home in the United States. A photograph album focuses on his time at Camp Livingston in Louisiana, as well as more photographs from Europe.

Other documents include a collection from his training at the Chemical Warfare School; promotion, assignment, and transfer documents; guidelines from the US military about how to interact with German civilians; identification cards; leave documents; travel orders and procedures; financial and health documents; Surgeon General Circulation Letters; various reports and orders; ration cards; ephemera; and a small amount of correspondence.

Artifacts include a money donation tin from the Winterhilfswerk campaign in Germany, Schwartz's dog tags and Bronze Star medal, uniform patches and pins, a Nazi armband, a medical armband, a map, a copy of the book The Last Days of Hitler, and German medals.