Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Timeline
Addendum
Deathmarch
In the last weeks before the capitulation the leadership at Dachau committed one of the worst misdeeds in the twelve year history of the camp. When the Americans were coming close, a hasty evacuations of the camp was begun. Thousands of prisoners were put on transports in the direction of Austria. It became a true deathmarch, which was not survived by the majority of the participants. This march led thousands of emaciated prisoners through south German villages. The population, distraught at seeing so much misery, tried to help. But the very aggressive SS guards prevented it. However, several villagers were able to take pictures of this lugubrious procession.
It is not possible to ascertain the exact number of participants in the deathmarch. Estimates are between eight an fourteen thousand.
One of the participants in this miserable journey was able to maintain a diary, in spite of the miserable conditions. The words have been blurred by rain and in places are hard to decipher. The memories of Robert Gehrke:
"26 April. 9:30 a.m. Orders to march in the camp. Noon, to the roll call area. 12:30 p.m.: Germans, Russians, Jews. All others get ready. 9:00 p.m. Start the march. Around 9000 men. Of those, about 2000 Germans. Leadership: The Scharführers Wolf, Ruppert, Böttcher, Wolff. Walking in groups of one hundred. Guards: Around 600 SS, including 20 Hundeführer (dog leaders). March route: Dachau, Karlsfeld, Allach, Untermenzing, Obermenzing, Pasing, Locham, Grafeling, Leustetten. First rest 6 km before Starmberg an der Wurm. 11:00 in the morning. Since Allach, Wolf and Ruppert disappear. After Leustetten they return by car. Walked 46 Kilometers. 16 died of exhaustion. Army camp under captain. Rest for eight hours. Hears the latest news reports. Allach, Präzifix and other commandos join in. Altogether now 10,000 men.
27 April. 6:30 p.m. Allach in the lead. Walking in eight groups. Rain, Rain.
The roaming starts. Böttcher does not know the way. Wurmbad, Percha, Starnberg. The road is barred by fleeing wehrmacht. The column falls apart. SS deserts. Prisoners flee. The column has to be put back together. Kemfenhausen, Aufkirchen, Allmannshausen, Weperthausen, Munsing, Dorfen, Wolfratshausen, Eurasburg. Stopped by the wehrmacht. Second rest. 38 km. 480 died from exhaustion. More than 1000 dropped off.
28 April. Rest. 53 dead. Of those 15 were shot by the SS. Why? Police major from Wolfratshausen is the commander. Gave extra food. 1/5th of a loaf of bread. Piece of cheese, meat....
29 April. In the afternoon we left for Königsdorf, to the HO-lager.
1/10th of a loaf of bread. 40 grams of cheese. Ruppert appears by car. There are 1025 Germans left. SS more and more unsure. New guards arrive from Tolz. The Wehrmacht takes over guard duties.
The destruction begins. Whoever remains lying down is shot. The Russians take a different road and are shot down with machine guns. Hundreds of dead, Our route: Beuerburg, Hofstädt, Königsdorf - by wood paths. The Wehrmacht drives us into a ravine. The road is strewn with dead bodies.
30 April. Chased from the ravine with blows of sticks and shots. Fischbach, Einbach, Tolz, Greiling, Reichersbeuen. Detained by the Wehrmacht. General von Zossen: "If one more prisoner is murdered I will shoot all guards on the spot!" It continues to snow. 1/10th of a loaf of bread. 40 gr. of cheese. 37 km.
1 May. Rest. 1/10 of a loaf of bread. 40 gr. of cheese. 30 dead.
2 May. In the morning still 30 posts. Most of them new. Old people. All others are gone. During the night everything was snowed under. March to Waarkirchen. 3 km. Housed in a barn. 2:15 p.m. The Americans arrive. The SS disappears. Dogs are tied up in the woods.
3 May. Rest. The reaction comes. Every day still people die from exhaustion.
4 May. Back to Tolz. 9 km.
5 May. Tolz. The entire transport is less than 3000. 900 Germans, 1000 Russians, the rest Jews.
11 May. To Munich by car. A free man".
In ten places along the route the prisoners walked are monuments in remembrance of the deathmarch. A copy of this monument is on the garden of the Holocaust museum Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.
Deathmarch Routes
