Native American Soldiers: Warriors and Witnesses to the Holocaust

Comanche code talker Charles Chibitty was one of many Native Americans who used their languages to communicate secret messages that stumped the Germans and helped the Allies win World War II. Lumbee tribal citizen Jesse Oxendine was part of the 82nd Airborne division that encountered Nazi atrocities when they liberated the Wöbbelin concentration camp and forced local Germans to bury the dead and attend the victims’ funeral services. Watch our commemoration of Indigenous Peoples' Day and learn about courageous Native Americans who confronted Holocaust atrocities while serving their country. Guest Alexandra Harris, Co-curator of the exhibit and Co-author of the book "Why We Serve: Native Americans in the United States Armed Forces," Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian Host Dr. Edna Friedberg, Historian, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Watch Jesse Oxendine’s testimony describing his service in WWII and the Holocaust atrocities he witnessed when he and the 82nd Airborne Division liberated the Wöbbelin concentration camp: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn607953 Learn how the 45th Infantry Division—including 2,000 Native American soldiers and nicknamed “Thunderbird” during WWII—liberated the Dachau concentration camp: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-45th-infantry-division To see other episodes in the Museum's Stay Connected Live series, go to https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWQC3P4psZP6Mh45xyYa2QepIMgkKD4BA For more personal stories, behind-the-scenes insights, and expert historians, subscribe to the Museum's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@holocaustmuseum