The marches started out in 1944 when a camp called Lublin was overran. A SS officer decided to move the prisoners to another camp before others came. But he was too late evacuating all the prisoners. The western media showed up to discover what was really going on in the concentration camps. They interviewed different prisoners that were still within the camp and a few SS officers. The media also gained some footage of the camp.
After that SS officers began to notice how many prisoners die while on marches. They decided to make prisoners march for no reason. They purposely made them march just to kill them off. If someone was to fall behind because of exhaustion during the march then the officers would shoot them. They also shot the people that were too ill to keep up or just older. From 1944-1945 the officers began making the prisoners march more and the amount of deaths increased at an exponential rate. Many died of starvation, being tired, and from the harsh winter conditions. SS officers marched their prisoners almost to last day of the war. On May 1, 1945, the SS officers made the prisoners march to a ship where they would've been taken to the North Sea coastline. While they were on the ship the British bombed it. They thought there were military men from Germany on the ship when it turned out to be the prisoners.
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005162
"Holocaust History." Death Marches. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
http://dtsdapache.hershey.k12.pa.us/wpmu/hs_eng9/2011/01/24/death-marches-killing-jews/
"A Time of Terror."
A Time of Terror RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
It is wrong to kill someone in this manner. It is a horrible way to die espectialy putting them on a ship. The Germans were aware that the ship would be bombed, I would think anyway. WHy else put them on the boat?
ReplyDeleteThe way the Germans killed the prisoners were horrible. I mean watching people die in front of you and knowing you caused that, you have to be very sick to do that.
ReplyDeleteThats crazy how they killed them like that. I dont know ehat I would do if I had to march to my death.
ReplyDeleteno one should have to walk to there death! so cruel!!
ReplyDeleteI would hate to die that way.
ReplyDeleteIts sad how they marched to their deaths.
ReplyDeleteIt is terrible how they were killed,
ReplyDeleteIts so sad how the Germans killed them off. Germans put and took the quote, "Walk to thy death" too literal! Its so sad, and tiring just thinking about how much pain they were going through.
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