(Liberator)
Paul Flacks was drafted at age twenty and assigned to the Third Army. As an advance scout, he was often inside German lines as the Allies advanced across Europe. He was one of the first Americans to liberate the concentration camp at Buchenwald. He worked as an interpreter during the American occupation of Germany and helped identify key members of the SS. His family preserved a number of Nazi books, posters and photos, some of which are now in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. As a Dayton businessman, he was active in Jewish organizations and was Executive Vice President and National Executive Director of the Zionist Organization of America for twenty years. Even after retirement he edited a Zionist newsletter. His wife Shirley is still active in Dayton’s community affairs. They have two children and four grandchildren.
Buchenwald was established in July 1937. It became the largest death camp in Germany and is still maintained as a memorial by the German government. It is located in Upper Saxony, not far from Nuremberg. Between 60,000 and 65,000 people lost their lives there.