| United States Army Ambulance driver Technician 5th Grade Francis P. Smith (November 20, 1921 – December 2, 1996) examines wooden coffins with an unidentified former inmate at the Langenstein-Zwieberge Konzentrationslager (KZ; “Concentration Camp”). The Langenstein-Zwieberge was a subcamp of KZ Buchenwald. More than 7,000 prisoners from 23 countries were imprisoned there between April 1944 and April 1945. The principal goal of the prisoners was to dig tunnels to hide production facilities for the Junkers factories that would build new types of jets and weapons. With this in mind, the Junkers firm arranged a small camp of 3 huts inside the large camp for specialists, 869 people. 3,000 inmates were forced marched to various locations starting on April 9. 1 of the columns of 500 people was never seen again. 18 survivors of another column arrived in Berlin on April 28. Some 2,500 are estimated to have died in the forced marches from Langenstein-Zwieberge. Smith enlisted on March 19, 1943, at Camp Dodge Herrold, Iowa and arrived overseas on November 7, 1944. He returned to the United States on January 28, 1946. He was discharged on February 5, 1946. Francis P. Smith and his wife, Frances Elaine Windsor Smith (April 22, 1922 – December 3, 1996) were found dead in their car together on December 13, 1996. They had driven off the road after Francis had an apparent heart attack and crashed into a tree during a snowstorm. Unwilling to leave her husband, Frances died of exposure in the car. After an intense 11-day search, a man walking his dog found their car. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0589.jpg |
| Image Size | 202.51 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1300 x 954 |
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| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | April 30, 1945 |
| Location | Langenstein-Zwieberge Konzentrationslager |
| City | Langenstein |
| State or Province | Saxony-Anhalt |
| Country | Germany |
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| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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