ABSTRACT
The winter of 1944 was the coldest on record in Europe. New winter clothing arrived in Belgium and France but never reached the soldiers on the front lines. In what became known as the Battle of the Bulge, the German Army launched a surprise attack with a more than two-to-one advantage. As American troops were overrun, they were marched to the rear. The SS ordered the prisoners of war to expose their dog tags. Some men were singled out, apparently for execution. To protect their Jewish comrades, some gentiles exchanged dog tags; some even passed them Bibles. The first indication that Jewish prisoners would be treated differently came when the Germans told the barracks leaders that a Jewish barracks leader would not be tolerated because a Jew could not represent Aryans.
