January 18, 1945
SS Begins Evacuating Auschwitz
Historical context
On this day, January 18, 1945, the SS began evacuating prisoners from the Auschwitz camp complex on death marches as Soviet forces approached.
Archive record
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- Date
- January 18, 1945
- Verified sources
- 1
- Archive threads
- 6
On this day, as Soviet units approached, the SS began evacuating the Auschwitz main camp, Birkenau, and Monowitz. Tens of thousands of prisoners, mostly Jews, were forced west on foot in winter. Prisoners who could not march were left behind or shot.
Nine days later, on 27 January, Soviet troops liberated about 7,000 prisoners left in the complex. That liberation is a separate published story. Later international commemoration of 27 January is not a 1945 naming.
Research trail
Sources and further reading
- Auschwitz: Key Dates · United States Holocaust Memorial Museum · Holocaust Encyclopedia View source
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