Eddie Hellmuth Willner (August 15, 1926 – March 30, 2008) was a German Jew, a US Army major, and a survivor of the

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

and

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (Old Reich) territori ...

concentration camps whose World War II experiences are the subject of an upcoming book ''The Boys in the Light''.

Early life, slave laborer at sub-camps of Auschwitz

Willner, his mother and his father, a veteran of the German Army from

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and recipient of the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

, fled Germany in 1939 due to the worsening situation for the Jews. They went initially to Belgium and then to France. Following the German occupation of France, they were arrested and transported from

Drancy internment camp Drancy internment camp () was an assembly and detention camp for confining Jews who were later deported to the extermination camps during the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, German occupation of France duri ...

near Paris to

. Willner's mother was immediately sent to the gas chambers. The SS made the male Willners slave laborers at subcamps of Auschwitz. At one of those camps,

Blechhammer The Blechhammer (') (nowadays Blachownia Śląska, district of the City of Kędzierzyn-Koźle) area was the location of Greater German Reich chemical plants, prisoner of war camps, and forced labor camps (). Labor camp prisoners began arrivi ...

, Willner’s father became ill and was sent to Auschwitz and murdered. The SS put the prisoners, including Willner, on a

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war, other captives, or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinct from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convention requires tha ...

Gross-Rosen concentration camp Gross-Rosen was a network of Nazi concentration camps built and operated by Nazi Germany during World War II. The main camp was located in the German village of Gross-Rosen, now the modern-day Rogoźnica in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, di ...

, where he was then transported by train to

and then on to one of Buchenwald's sub-camps,

Langenstein-Zwieberge The Langenstein-Zwieberge was a concentration camp, an under-camp of the Buchenwald concentration camp. More than 7000 prisoners from 23 countries were imprisoned there between April 1944 and April 1945. The camp was situated in the village of ...

Slave laborer at Langenstein-Zwieberge, sub-camp of Buchenwald

The work at Langenstein was excavation of rock in order to build tunnels to hide (from allied reconnaissance) production facilities for the Junkers factories that would build new types of aircraft and weapons. The work was extraordinarily harsh even by Nazi concentration camp standards. On average prisoners survived six weeks.

Death march, escape

After surviving eight weeks, the SS put Willner and the other prisoners on another death march. At one point Willner and five others prisoners attempted to escape; Willner and one other prisoner, his close friend Maurits "Mike" Swaab, were successful despite gunfire from the guards, the fate of the others is unknown. By following the sounds of artillery, Willner and Swaab found the U.S. Army 3rd Armored Division, 32nd Regiment, Company D. As the company advanced further eastward, the two survivors pointed out German positions which they had observed during their escape. The unit's medical personnel examined Willner and indicated he weighed 75 pounds. The soldiers of the division cared for the two survivors over several months and returned them to health. After the war Willner learned that 26 members of his family had been murdered by the Nazis.

Life after the war

After the war, Willner immigrated to the United States and dedicated his life to service to the country that liberated him. He enlisted in the US Army and served for 21 years. Willner served in Europe, Korea and Japan, primarily as a criminal investigator and intelligence officer. He retired in 1969 as a major. Willner continued to serve his country as a US federal government employee at the

Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

for another 20 years and as a volunteer for 20 years on the Falls Church, Virginia, Law Enforcement Safety and Advisory Commission. Eddie Willner married a German, Johanna, who had fled the Russian occupation of Germany. Johanna is the author of ''Christine: A Life in Germany after World War II'', a novel based on the three years before her escape from East Germany. Eddie's story will be told in an upcoming book titled, ''The Boys in the Light: An Extraordinary WWII Story of Survival, Faith and Brotherhood,'' by Nina Willner, (his daughter and author of ''Forty Autumns'') which will be published in July 2025 (Penguin Random House (Dutton)). Eddie and Johanna were married for 49 years until his death in 2008. They had six children.

Gravesite

Willner is buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

in Section 60, Grave 15.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Willner, Eddie 1926 births 2008 deaths Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to France United States Army officers Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Gross-Rosen concentration camp survivors Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Emigrants from Allied-occupied Germany to the United States Jewish American military personnel 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews