todayinhistory:January 17th 1945: Evacuation of AuschwitzOn this day in 1945, the evacuation of the

todayinhistory:January 17th 1945: Evacuation of AuschwitzOn this day in 1945, the evacuation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp began in Poland. The Soviet army were fast approaching, and the Nazi officials at Auschwitz had already begun the process of dismantling gas chambers and destroying documents in an attempt to hide the war crimes and crimes against humanity that had been committed there in the mass extermination of innocent civilians. The leader of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, ordered the evacuation of the remaining prisoners at the camp as the Red Army closed in on the area. Nearly 60,000 prisoners from Auschwitz were forced on a march toward Wodzisław Śląski (Loslau) where they would be sent to other camps; some 20,000 ended up in the Bergen-Belsen camp in Germany. However, thousands died during the evacuation on the grueling marches, leading to them being called ‘death marches’. 7,500 weak and sick prisoners remained in Auschwitz, and they were liberated by the 322nd Rifle Division of the Soviet Red Army on January 27th 1945. Auschwitz remains one of the most powerful symbols of the Holocaust and the horrific crimes committed by the Nazi regime against Jews and numerous other groups. -- source link

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