Obj. ID: 58535
Memorials Memorial plaque in the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site, Germany
Name of Monument
No official Name
What/Who is commemorated?
U.S. army liberators of Dachau and nazi victims of Nazi barbarism,
Description
A rectangular bronze plaque is affixed to the inner wall of the arched entryway into the Dachau Camp Memorial.
Inscriptions
On the plaque, in English:
IN HONOR OF 42ND RAINBOW DIVISION
AND OTHER U.S. 7TH ARMY LIBERATORS
OF DACHAU CONCENTRATION CAMP
APRIL 29, 1945 AND IN EVERLASTING
MEMORY OF THE VICTIMS OF NAZI
BARBARISM, THIS TABLET IS
DEDICATED MAY 3, 1992.
The same text, in French:
EN L'HONNEUR DE LA 42ème DIVISION
"ARC-EN-CIEL" ET DES AUTRES ELEMENTS DE LA
7ème ARMEE AMERICAINE QUI ONT LIBERE LE CAMP
DE CONCENTRATION DE DACHAU LE 29 AVRIL 1945
ET A LA MEMOIRE INEFFACABLE DES VICTIMES DE LA
BARBARIE NAZIE CE MEMORIAL A ETE INAUGURE LE
3 MAI 1992.
The same text, in German:
ZU EHREN DER 42, REGENBOGEN - DIVISION UND ALLER
ANGEHÖRIGER DER 7.US ARMEE, DIE DAS
KONZENTRATIONSLAGER DACHAU AM 29.APRIL 1945
BEFREIT HABEN UND DEM FORTWÄHRENDEN GEDENKEN
AN DIE OPFER DER NAZI BARBAREI GEWIDMET
AM 3.MAI 1992
In English:
RAINBOW DIVISION
VETERANS MEMORIAL FOUNDATION INC.
Commissioned by
Rainbow Division, Veterans Memorial Foundation Inc.
sub-set tree: 
From: https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=67&MemID=121
“The 42nd and 45th Infantry Divisions and the 20th Armored Division of the US Army liberate approximately 32,000 prisoners at Dachau. On April 26, 1945, as American forces approached, there were 67,665 registered prisoners in Dachau and its subcamps; more than half of this number were in the main camp. Of these, 43,350 were categorized as political prisoners, while 22,100 were Jews, with the remainder falling into various other categories. Starting that day, the Germans forced more than 7,000 prisoners, mostly Jews, on a death march from Dachau to Tegernsee far to the south. During the death march, the Germans shot anyone who could no longer continue; many also died of hunger, cold, or exhaustion. On April 29, 1945, American forces liberated Dachau. As they neared the camp, they found more than 30 railroad cars filled with bodies brought to Dachau, all in an advanced state of decomposition. In early May 1945, American forces liberated the prisoners who had been sent on the death march.
Liberator Division: For their part in liberating this camp, the 42nd Rainbow" Infantry Division divisions was accorded liberator status in 1985 by a joint program of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the U.S. Army Center of Military History, which was an effort on the part of these two entities to recognize U.S. Army units that took part in freeing prisoners from Nazi concentration camps.”
In 1992 a commemorative plaque was installed at the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. A second plaque commemorating the 45th Infantry Division was installed next to it in 2025.
Jones, Anthony, “Dachau concentration camp unveils plaque honoring liberators of the 45th Infantry Division,” News from the Oklahoma National Guard, May 29, 2025., https://ok.ng.mil/News/Article/4200815/dachau-concentration-camp-unveils-plaque-honoring-liberators-of-the-45th-infant/ (accessed March 8, 2026)
“42nd 'Rainbow' Infantry Division Dachau Liberation Plaque,” American War Memorials Overseas, Inc., https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=67&MemID=121 (accessed March 8, 2026)
“Honoring American Liberators,” U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum., https://www.ushmm.org/m/pdfs/20040514-infantry-42.pdf (accessed March 8, 2026)