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Life

25th Jan 2015

Holocaust Survivor Reunites with the Soldier Who Liberated Him 70 Years Ago

The pair were reunited by a television crew for a documentary

Rebecca McKnight

This picture captures the moment a Holocaust survivor came face to face with the soldier who helped liberate his concentration camp 70 years ago.

Joshua Kaufman (87) saluted Daniel Gillespie (89) before embracing him and falling to the ground when the pair were recently reunited on a beach in California.

He said: “I have wanted to do this for 70 years. I love you. I love you so much.”

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The pair embraced each other (images via History Channel).

Gillespie was a member of the 42nd Rainbow Division which liberated Dachau concentration camp on April 29th 1945. Kaufman was found hiding in the toilets with other captives.

Speaking about that moment, he explained: “We were confined to barracks by the guards. This meant most of us were marked for death.

“Then I saw the white flag flying from the watchtower and I realised then that the torture was at an end. When the Americans smashed in the door, my heart did somersaults.”

The two men were reunited by a television crew for a documentary called Dachau Concentration Camp – The Hour Of The Liberators. It is due to air on the History Channel on May 31st.