How did Auschwitz end?

As the Soviet army approached and the end of the war came closer the vast majority of Auschwitz prisoners were marched west by the Nazis, into Germany. ... “He struck me as a normal person, that was the horrible thing about it. He was cool, objective, matter of fact. 'This is my war duty. I did my war duty. read more

Commentary: By January 1945 the SS here at Auschwitz knew that Red Army soldiers were near. So they decided to try and escape by leaving the camp and travelling west, further into the Reich. read more

In January 1945, Auschwitz was liberated. This was the biggest camp in the Nazi territory and it was also the one where the most deaths occurred. The liberation of this camp was a major milestone in the end of the Holocaust. By the end of the war, there were some 50,000 to 100,000 survivors that were living in occupied Europe. read more