Dachau concentration camp Mistreatment of German Guards at Dachau," found that 21 plus "a number" of presumed SS men were killed with others being wounded after their surrender had been accepted. In addition, 25 to 50 SS guards were estimated to have been killed by the liberated prisoners. Lee Miller visited the camp just after liberation, and photographed several guards who were killed by soldiers or prisoners. According to Sparks, court-martial charges were drawn up against him and several other men under his command but General George S. Patton, who had recently been appointed military governor of Bavaria, chose to dismiss the charges.
Dachau concentration camp Colonel Charles L. Decker, an acting deputy judge advocate, concluded in late 1945 that, while war crimes had been committed at Dachau by Germany, "Certainly, there was no such systematic criminality among United States forces as pervaded the Nazi groups in Germany." American troops also forced local citizens to the camp to see for themselves the conditions there and to help bury the dead. Many local residents were shocked about the experience and claimed no knowledge of the activities at the camp. 6 May 1945 (23 April on the Orthodox calendar) was the day of Pascha, Orthodox Easter. In a