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The scenes Levine witnessed when he entered Dachau concentration camp on April 29, 1945, were so terrible that he refused to speak about them, even to his family. However, Levine believed, "the most important and effective method of preventing another
Holocaust is truth and education". It was this
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In 1946, Levine, his brothers, and his cousins founded a small plastics company in Duluth that molded advertising and display signs. In 1948, he moved to
Chicago to establish the Lakeside Plastics Sales Co., a separate sales division for the plastics firm. He retired in 1975.
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maintains a
William P. Levine Collection containing an assortment of Levine's World War II-era military documents, maps, photographs, and artifacts. Per the Chicago Firearms Ordinance, Levine's German
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131:, as well as the liberation of Dachau. The horrors Levine witnessed at Dachau would trouble him for the rest of his life. For a short time after the war, Levine assisted in the operation of a
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7.65-mm. handgun, which he brought back to the United States after obtaining permission from the US Army, cannot be housed at the museum; it is stored with other handguns at a gun range in
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The Moriah
Congregation in Deerfield, Illinois, has a flag circle dedicated to Levine. The flag circle and garden landscaping were dedicated on June 4, 2006, in the presence of then-
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Levine married twice. His first wife, Leah
Goldberg, died in 1975. In 1980, he remarried Rhoda Kreiter, who survived him. He had one son and four daughters.
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in 1960 and rising to commanding officer in 1962. When the XIV Corps was deactivated in 1967, Levine was appointed commanding general of the U.S. Army's
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After his retirement, Levine served as the construction project manager for many north suburban Jewish organizations. He supervised the building of the
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During his military service, the Army sent him to engineering school so that he could acquire the skills to command a company of engineers.
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Levine was discharged from active military service in 1946. He continued his service in the Army
Reserve, as executive officer of the
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in May 1943. He served with the 34th Anti-Aircraft
Artillery Group as an intelligence officer. His unit participated in the
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In retirement, Levine served as chairman of a retired officers association for the Army in the
Midwest.
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in
Germany. He would eventually rise to the rank of major general. After the war, he was active in the
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in 1937. After graduation, he worked in retail sales before being drafted into the Army in 1942.
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belief that led to his speaking about his experience at Dachau nearly 40 years later.
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237:. He spoke about his experience and the experiences of the victims he met there.
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481:"Chicago gun laws bar museum from displaying Nazi weapon seized by WWII hero"
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William P. Levine
Collection at the Pritzker Military Museum and Library
391:"William P. Levine, World War II veteran helped liberate Dachau, dies"
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Levine attended a 40th anniversary memorial ceremony for the
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officer. During World War II, he served in the US Army as an
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on March 29, 2013, in Highland Park, Illinois, at age 97.
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Interview at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
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In May 1990, Levine recorded an oral history with the
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159:During his military career, Levine was awarded the
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349:"Oral History Interview with William P. Levine"
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573:United States Army personnel of World War II
321:"Obituary: Major General William P. Levine"
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508:"Major General William Levine's Garden"
353:United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
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233:He also spoke at Chicago's 1995 annual
228:United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
458:Pritzker Military Museum & Library
262:Pritzker Military Museum & Library
75:(July 1, 1915 – March 29, 2013) was a
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613:20th-century American businesspeople
479:Miller, Joshua Rhett (15 May 2013).
389:Goldsborough, Bob (22 April 2013).
568:Jewish American military personnel
510:. Moriah Congregation. 4 June 2006
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623:Military personnel from Minnesota
583:Recipients of the Legion of Merit
193:North Suburban Synagogue Beth El
608:Deaths from respiratory failure
121:Army's Officer Candidate School
588:University of Minnesota alumni
454:"William P. Levine Collection"
428:"Man Frees Holocaust Memories"
319:Nelson, Jacob (5 April 2013).
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603:Businesspeople from Minnesota
593:People from Duluth, Minnesota
284:Illinois State Representative
187:as well as two synagogues in
83:. Levine was among the first
598:Businesspeople from Illinois
181:Solomon Schechter Day School
64:US Army intelligence officer
578:United States Army generals
165:Distinguished Service Medal
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618:21st-century American Jews
119:Levine graduated from the
16:United States Army general
235:Holocaust Remembrance Day
89:Dachau concentration camp
151:84th Division (Training)
93:Chicago Jewish community
109:University of Minnesota
54:Highland Park, Illinois
213:Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
133:displaced persons camp
543:Reserve Army Command
81:intelligence officer
325:Highland Park Patch
250:respiratory failure
103:Levine was born in
77:United States Army
403:on April 23, 2013
270:Lombard, Illinois
203:Holocaust speaker
105:Duluth, Minnesota
73:William P. Levine
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66:Holocaust speaker
36:Duluth, Minnesota
23:William P. Levine
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434:. 26 April 1995
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527:External links
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277:US Congressman
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61:Known for
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460:. 1 July 1915
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241:Personal life
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512:. Retrieved
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127:invasion on
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48:(2013-03-29)
32:July 1, 1915
563:2013 deaths
558:1915 births
139:survivors.
552:Categories
293:References
266:Walther PP
217:Yad Vashem
185:Northbrook
129:Utah Beach
99:Early life
287:Karen May
280:Mark Kirk
221:Jerusalem
189:Deerfield
147:XIV Corps
137:Holocaust
486:Fox News
514:16 May
492:5 June
464:16 May
438:16 May
407:16 May
359:5 June
330:16 May
256:Legacy
125:D-Day
516:2014
494:2014
466:2014
440:2014
409:2014
361:2014
332:2014
282:and
260:The
163:and
43:Died
29:Born
219:in
215:at
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