Dwight D. Eisenhower, who served as the 34th President of the United States from 1953 to 1961, had just a few years prior to his term been a general in World War Two. When in Germany, he learned of the extermination camp in Ohrdruf, Germany.
Upon discovering it, he arranged to meet other generals there, as that area of Germany had been captured by the Allies already. Eisenhower led a tour through the extermination camp and was so appalled that he ordered every American soldier there not on the front lines to visit Ohrdruf. This was so they would know exactly what they’re fighting against.
Eisenhower said that the atrocities there were “beyond the American mind to comprehend.” As a result, he ordered every citizen of the town of Gotha to tour the camp.
After the mayor and his wife toured the camp, they were so disturbed and ashamed that they went home and hanged themselves. Commenting on the atrocities, Eisenhower later said “I never dreamed that such cruelty bestiality, and savagery could really exist in this world.”