My uncle said that up to that point he had been feeling conflicted about shooting at the Germans, as he was himself a 2nd generation German-American and was worried that he had been shooting at cousins. But after that camp experience, he no longer cared about that, and no longer felt German! He felt American.
I've enjoyed reading about your family's service, but this paragraph is strong stuff. I'm sure there were many more who felt as he did. Thanks for posting. JL
Yes, I know. He was the grandchild of 2 grandfathers who had immigrated about 80 years before WWII, in fact.
80 years! And my uncle still felt part German. They still spoke some German at home in Texas after all that time. So I know how long a process assimilation is. But he worried about shooting at his possible cousins when he got to Germany. Until the camp...that did it for him. He knew the difference and there was no going back. He was American.
(In fact, I didn't write this above, but just remembered it, he said he tried to kill as many Germans as he could.)