Argumentative Essay: Death Marches In The Holocaust

Death Marches in the Holocaust
The year is 1944, and you are a Jewish teenager. You are trapped in a Jewish concentration camp called Auschwitz. You know that it is one of the biggest killing centers for the Holocaust, but you are praying that American soldiers rescue you before you die. You are surrounded by other people, some you know and some you don’t. You were seperated from your family years ago, not knowing where they are now. You try not to accept the fact that they are most likely dead, but there isn’t much of a chance that they survived. Food doesn’t come to you often, so you have lost a lot of weight. You are very weak and it is hard for you to stand up due to your legs aching. The memories of what has happened and what is still to come will never leave your mind. Your best friend was killed right in front of you, and the only reason

they were killed was to keep you safe. You are trapped here and have no say in what is going to happen. Then you hear voices shouting, it is the Nazi officers. They are yelling at you to start walking. Thousands of other prisoners walk along with you,
You hear gunshots and see people behind you falling to the ground. They are kicked over to the side of the road, being left to rot. The winter air hits your body, and right now you wish you had more clothes, but at least you are alive. You march for days, weeks, even months. One night, you are sleeping on the ground. You are sick and try to hide from the officers so you are not killed. Then, more shouting reaches your ears. You don’t sit up, afraid that if you do, you will be shot. The Nazi officers are fleeing the area! The Americans are here to rescue you. You survived one of the hardest things to do, a death march.
While allied troops were invading Germany and prisoners were liberated, death marches in the Holocaust were one of the many methods of killing Jews during the end of the war. It is important to remember why death marches occurred, how the prisoners were killed, and the most famous death marches. As the war came to an end, thousands of deceased Jews lay on the edges of roads, very few could be saved.
Why Death Marches Occurred
Death marches occurred mostly while concentration camps were being invaded.

Sick or injured prisoners were usually killed before marches started. Jewish concentration camps were evacuated as Nazis tried to erase all evidence of their crimes. “SS authorities did not want prisoners to fall into enemy hands and tell their Holocaust stories” [Death Marches 2015]. Nazis and other German parties would be hated more in the world if stories of what they did to prisoners were told. This caused more prisoners to be killed during death marches and also liberated. “Some SS leaders believed irrationally that they could use Jewish concentration camp prisoners as hostages to bargain for a separate peace in the west and guarantee the survival of Nazi regime” [Death Marches 2015]. Nazis also believed that if they had Jewish prisoners in their hands, enemy troops would let them go to save the prisoners. This did not work due to prisoners being killed before enemies got to them or officers abandoning their prisoners to save themselves. Most prisoners did not reach the end point of the march due to being killed or, in rare cases,

liberated.
How Prisoners Were Killed During Death Marches
During death marches, more prisoners were killed by SS guards for falling behind than prisoners who died of exhaustion or exposure. Death marches was one way that Nazi officers could kill many prisoners at one time. During one march from Auschwitz, an estimated amount of nine-thousand to fifteen-thousand prisoners were killed. Prisoners were shot, run over by motor vehicles, or burnt to death. “It is estimated that nearly four-hundred-thousand prisoners were sent on death marches from various camps outside of Germany” [Death Marches 2010]. Most prisoners that were taken on death marches did not survive. They were killed by SS officers or by illnesses. “Sick prisoners who couldn’t walk anymore were offered the ‘opportunity’ by the Germans to travel by bus. About 240 prisoners volunteered and were told to step over to the side of the road. They were all shot.” [Astor]. Nazi soldiers intended for all prisoners to die on death marches. Prisoners who could not walk were killed before the marches started. Most were shot before the marches and during the marches. In the final weeks of the war, between two-hundred fifty-thousand and three-hundred-seventy-five thousand prisoners were killed on death marches.
Major Death Marches
In the winter of 1944 going into 1945, over 7 major concentration camps were evacuated. Most marches occurred in the winter and were through the woods or isolated areas. The marches were lead through isolated areas so the public eye could not see Nazis killing Jews. “Nazis forced almost fifty thousand prisoners, including thirty-five thousand women to march west to the Ravensbruck and Sachsenhausen concentration camps in Germany. At least ten thousand people died during that march.” [Death Marches 2010]. Prisoners were being evacuated to work in different labor camps that were inside Germany. Nazis were trying to get as much labor work as they could out of the prisoners until they lost the war. “At the end of January 1945, forty-five thousand prisoners were evacuated from Stutthof and its satellite camps.” [Rosenberg]. Some of the biggest death marches that occurred were from some of the biggest concentration camps. These camps include Auschwitz, Stutthof, Gross-Rosen, Buchenwald, Flossenbürg, Dachau, and Sachsenhausen. Some prisoners reached the end point of a death march. Since they were not liberated during the death march, they were most likely killed.
Conclusion
Thousands of prisoners were killed during death marches. Allied forces tried to save as many people as they could, but sometimes, Nazis had already killed them. It is important to remember why death marches occurred, how the prisoners were killed, and the most famous death marches.