April 26, 1945
SS Begins Death Marches from Dachau
Historical context
On this day, April 26, 1945, the SS began forcing prisoners from Dachau and its subcamps on death marches south toward the Alps, three days before U.S. troops reached the main camp.
Archive record
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- Date
- April 26, 1945
- Verified sources
- 1
- Archive threads
- 6
On this day, SS guards began evacuating prisoners from Dachau and its subcamps on foot toward Tegernsee and the Austrian border. Prisoners who could not keep up were shot. U.S. troops reached the main camp three days later, on 29 April.
USHMM records late-April evacuations from Dachau toward the south as U.S. forces approached. American units later found survivors of the southern columns.
Research trail
Sources and further reading
- Dachau · United States Holocaust Memorial Museum · Holocaust Encyclopedia View source
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