l12 liberation

Question 1

the process of evacuating camps

Answer 1

healthy prisoners forced on death marches to camps under nazi control:
if fell, then shot+ in freezing cold w/o food
those not fit for marches either left at original camp to die or killed

Question 2

purpose of evacuating camps

Answer 2

SS authorities did not want prisoners falling into allied hands and telling them their stories
germany needed prisoners to maintain the production of armaments
believed they could use jewish concentraion camp prisoners to baraign for a seperate peace in the west that would guarantee the survival of the nazi regime

Question 3

discoveries at liberation of auschwitz

Answer 3

9k prisoners remained, cmp at first appeared abanadoned
survivors greeted soldiers as liberators
no supplies left in the camp for the prisoners, most +weak& & malnourished & ill
warehouses full of goods stolen from jewish inmates, 40km of eyeglasses 100s of prostetic limbs, 12k pots and pans
44k pairs of shoes (88k shoes) 3.8k suitcases, children stuff

Question 4

discoveries at libertion of bergen-belsen

Answer 4

60k (everybody in the camp) in critical condition
lots of corpses like thousands unburied
typhus and typhoid rampant in bb
many ate too much and died after liberation
~500 deaths/day with medicine after liberation

Question 5

struggles of jewish after liberation

Answer 5

many that survived resembled skeletons b/c labour and malnutrition
half of prisoners in auschwitz died within a few days of liberation
some tried to return home to search for missing family and property
many fear to return because antisemitism so found in displaced persons camps until emigration became more avaliable
in poland >1k jewish killed in first year after liberation dut to continuing antisemitism & beatings