January 28, 1944:
- January 20: "4200 Jews are shot at Auschwitz.
- "The Red Army moves into East Prussia.
- January 21-29: "Ninety-six Hungarian Jews interned at Auschwitz and working at a quarry at Golleschau, Germany, are sealed inside a pair of cattle cars labeled 'Property of the SS.'
Half of the prisoners freeze to death as the train travels aimlessly for days.
At Zwittau, Germany, the cattle cars are detached from the train and left at the station.
Manufacturer Oskar Schindler alters the bill of lading to read 'Final Destination--Schindler Factory, Brünnlitz.'
After unsealing the cars at his factory, Schindler frees the Jews; See April 26, 1945. - January 23: "Soviet forces close on Auschwitz.
- January 25: "The SS evacuates the concentration camp at Stutthof, Poland.
- January 26: "One thousand Jewish women interned at the Neusalz, Poland, slave-labor camp are set on a month-and-a-half-long forced march to the concentration camp at Flossenbürg, Germany, about 200 miles to the southwest.
Along the way, 800 are beaten and shot; See February 15, 1945. - January 27: "Soviet troops liberate Auschwitz and find 7,000 living inmates, including Anne Frank's father, Otto.
They also discover more than 830,000 women's coats and dresses, nearly 348,000 men's suits, and seven tons of human hair. - "Memel, Lithuania, is liberated by Soviet troops.
- Late January: "A forced march of several thousand Jews is undertaken from the Danzig/Königsberg region of Germany to the coastal city of Palmnicken.
At least 700 marchers are shot along the way and, with the exception of a few who escape, the remainder are machine-gunned by the SS at the edge of the Baltic Sea."
"The death marches were, in many instances, extremely public.
This group of weakened prisoners from Dachau was photographed marching through a tiny Bavarian village on its way through Wolfratshausen.
Many of these prisoners cover their heads in order to protect themselves from the damp, chilly weather."
"SS leader Heinrich Himmler (right) shares a moment of conversation with his personal physician and masseur, Felix Kersten.
In the final days of the war, Kersten, who treated several of the Nazi leaders, served as an intermediary between representatives of the World Jewish Congress and the head of the SS.
At two meetings held at Kersten's estate outside of Berlin, Himmler eventually agreed to free about 10,000 women held at the Ravensbrück, Germany, concentration camp."
"These children at Auschwitz, liberated by the Soviet Army on January 27, 1945, show their tattooed arms to the photographer.
Everyone imprisoned in Auschwitz had his or her arm tattooed with an identification number.
This served two purposes.
First, it allowed camp officials to keep track of the thousands of prisoners in the camp.
Second, making the inmates into nameless units served to dehumanize them, both crushing the spirit of the prisoners and making it easier for their guards to avoid facing the humanity of their charges."
"These children, liberated from Auschwitz by the Soviet Army, had been subjected to savage 'medical' experiments that they were fortunate to survive.
Auschwitz doctor Horst Schumann sterilized men, women, and children by exposing them to extreme doses of radiation.
He burned most of them so badly that they were deemed unfit for work and sent to the gas chambers.
It is uncertain precisely what experiments these children underwent."