The Liberation of Auschwitz.





















Eighty one years ago today, on 27th January 1945, at about 9am, the first Soviet soldier from a reconnaissance unit of the 100th Infantry Division appeared on the grounds of the prisoners' infirmary in Monowitz. The entire division arrived half an hour later. The same day a military doctor arrived and began to organize assistance.

In the afternoon soldiers of the Red Army entered the vicinity of the Auschwitz main camp and Birkenau. Near the main camp, they met resistance from retreating German units. 231 Red Army soldiers died in close combat for the liberation of Auschwitz, Birkenau and Monowitz. Two of them died in front of the gates of Auschwitz main camp. One of them was Lieutenant Gilmudin Badryjewicz Baszirow.

The first Red Army troops arrived in Birkenau and Auschwitz at around 3 p.m. and were joyfully greeted by the liberated prisoners. After the removal of mines from the surrounding area, soldiers of the 60th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front marched into the camp and brought freedom to the prisoners who were still alive. On the grounds of the main camp were 48 corpses and in Birkenau over 600 corpses of male and female prisoners who were shot or died in the last few days.

At the time of the Red Army's arrival, there were 7,000 sick and exhausted prisoners in the Auschwitz, Birkenau and Monowitz camps.

















You can read about the final days of the operation of the German Nazi camp Auschwitz, the tragedy of evacuation, the moment of liberation by the Soviet Army on 27 January 1945 & fate of some 7,500 liberated prisoners in the Auschwitz Museum online lesson full of accounts of Survivors: the introduction can be found by clicking on the link below. 

INTRODUCTION

Source: Auschwitz Museum.



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