Howard Koslow (American, 1924 - 2016) "Concentration Camps Liberated" Signed lower left. Original Acrylic on Illustration Board Painting. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting originally appeared on the Republic of the Marshall Islands 55c Allies Liberate Concentration Camps 1945 stamp issued May 4, 1995. The Soviets were the first of the Allied forces to confront the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps when they entered Auschwitz, near Krakow, Poland, on January 2, 1945. Even the most battle-hardened troops were shocked and sickened by what they found within the walls of the camp. Relating his experiences at the concentration camp in Ohrdruf, Germany, American General Omar Bradley recalled, "the smell of death overwhelmed us even before we passed through the stockade." Throughout the war the Nazis carried out the systematic extermination of an estimated six million Jews. Thousands of others also fell victim to similar atrocities in Nazi concentration camps. On May 4, 1945, with the liberation of the camp at Mauthausen, one of history's vilest crimes against humanity was put to an end. Image Size: 12.25 x 14.75 in. Overall Size: 17.25 x 19.5 in. Unframed. (B15002)