From Swansong 1945: A Collective Diary of the Last Days of the Third Reich, edited by Walter Kempowski, out this month from W. W. Norton. On April 25, 1945, Soviet and American troops met for the first time at the River Elbe, near Torgau, Germany. “Jewish Press Agency,” or “J.P.A.,” was a slang term used by concentration-camp inmates for rumors circulating within the camp.

renata laqueur, in transit from bergen-belsen concentration camp, germany

At half past five I was up again and wanted to get organized. We had nothing left. On my way back to the car, having…