Native American Soldiers: Warriors and Witnesses to the Holocaust

Fourteen Comanche code talkers who served in the US military in World War II attending basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, April 1941. Charles Chibitty (bottom row, third from right) was dressed in Comanche dance regalia. —National Archives

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 this digital program to learn about courageous Native Americans who confronted Holocaust atrocities while serving their country.

Native American Soldiers: Warriors and Witnesses to the Holocaust