Death Marches
In 1944, a massive Soviet offensive permitted Soviet forces to overrun one of the first major camps, Lublin/Majdanek. After the offensive, SS chief Heinrich Himmler ordered that prisoners in all concentration camps move to camps towards the interior of Reich. The purpose of prisoners evacuating the camps were so that prisoners wouldn't fall into "enemies" hands' alive so they'd be able to tell their stories and also because the SS leaders believed that if they left prisoners hostage, they could agree with their enemies the survival of the Nazi Regime. During the summer, they made prisoners travel from both east and west on foot. The SS guards were to kill any prisoners that weren't able to keep up and they also had to kill any prisoners that could no longer travel, establishing the name death marches from prisoners that had to experience these harsh evacuations. Thousands of prisoners died from the exposure of the cold, starvation, and exhaustion.
A view of the death march from Dachau passing through villages. -KZ Gedenkstaette Dachau