Summary
- The concentration camp scene in Band of Brothers is based on a real event, although the show takes some fictional liberties in depicting it.
- Easy Company, along with the 12th Armored Division, discovered the camp, which was part of the Kaufering complex in Landsberg.
- The US Army 101st Airborne Division found around 500 dead prisoners and ordered the local German population to bury the bodies, reflecting the reality of the liberation of concentration camps.
In Band Of Brothers, Easy Company discovers a concentration camp that has been abandoned by the German military and frees the poor souls inside, but did Easy Company find a concentration camp in real life? In a program known for its realistically bleak depiction of World War II, the liberation of the concentration camp stands out as one of the most harrowing moments. Band Of Brothers is based on the real-life exploits of the soldiers it depicts, as told in Stephen Ambrose's historical book of the same name, but some of it is fictionalized to better tell its story.
Some of Easy Company's real battles are missing in Band of Brothers for pacing reasons. However, the liberation of the concentration camp did really happen, just not quite the way the show depicts it. In Band of Brothers episode 9, "Why We Fight," Easy Company is sent to Landsberg, Germany, to oversee the surrender of 300,000 German soldiers. While patrolling the nearby woods, the come across a concentration camp and see the horrifying conditions the prisoners have been subjected to. One of the prisoners tells the soldiers that the prisoners are all Jewish and considered "undesirable" by the German army. However, did Easy Company find a concentration camp in real life?
The Concentration Camp Scene In Band Of Brothers
The prisoners in the Band of Brothers concentration camp are all severely starved and dehydrated, but the battalion physician informs the company that they must be monitored closely during their recovery, and they can't simply eat or drink as much as they want. As such, the company is forced to order the survivors to stay inside the camp so they don't leave without proper medical attention. Many corpses are scattered around the area, and it's later decided that local Germans will be made to exhume and dispose of the bodies. It is also mentioned that the Russian army liberated a larger camp, most likely Auschwitz, a few weeks prior.
Members of Easy Company are surprised that such a concentration camp exists. However, the Band of Brothers concentration camp is based on reality, as intel was often scarce and it was easy to get confused (a plane shoots its own men in Band of Brothers episode 6, "Bastogne"). There were no specific missions to liberate camps, with the possible exception of the Swedish Red Cross White Bus Rescue Action in April 1945, and therefore any liberation was a result of happenstance. Those doing the liberating likely had no prior knowledge that the camps even existed in the first place.
The U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division really did find a concentration camp, discovering around 500 dead prisoners there. The U.S. Army also really did order the local German population to bury the dead in the following days. In that respect, the Band of Brothers concentration camp is very much based on reality.
How Much Of The Band Of Brothers Concentration Camp Scene Was Real
In reality, though, it was the "Screaming Eagle" unit that found the camp, along with the 12th Armored Division, who got there first. This is just one of the things Band Of Brothers leaves out of its story. The units arrived at Kaufering IV, one of 11 camps in the Kaufering complex in Landsberg, on April 27 and 28th 1945. It once held more than 3,600 prisoners in inhumane conditions. When the SS heard of the approaching U.S. Army, they took most of their prisoners on a death march toward Dachau. They also set fire to the barracks to prevent liberation.
It's easy to see why the show depicts Easy Company discovering the camp, as they are the primary focus. The liberation of the Band of Brothers concentration camp is a worthwhile inclusion — even if the show bends the truth to incorporate it — because it showcases the very real horror of such places. The Holocaust should never be forgotten because it should never be allowed to happen again. The show intentionally fictionalizes some aspects of its story and even makes mistakes, such as the changed the Band of Brothers Blithe death and incorrectly saying he died in 1948. However, Band of Brothers still stays true to the harrowing experience of war.