The Dachau Uprising (German: Dachauer Aufstand)[3] was a revolt of Dachau prisoners, citizens of Dachau and deserters on 28th April, 1945,[4] aimed at disempowering party officials willing to fight, as well as Schutzstaffel (SS) and Volkssturm units during the last stages of World War II. It also sought to end Nazi rule in the town, prevent the liquidation of the concentration camp and the murder of the surviving prisoners.[5][6]
In late April 1945, as Allied forces approached, the SS began evacuating prisoners from the Dachau concentration camp to prevent their liberation.[7] At least 10.000[8][9] inmates from the Dachau camp and it's satellite camps were forced onto grueling death marches toward Tyrol.[10] Thousands perished along the way due to exhaustion, starvation, and mistreatment.[11]
The Revolt
In April 1945, an armed resistance group formed in Dachau, consisting of both local residents and former prisoners of the Dachau concentration camp. The group was led by Georg Scherer and Walter Neff, who had been released from the camp in 1941 and 1942, respectively.[6] Another commander was Georg Schmid.[5] the morning of April 28, 1945, the "Freedom Action Bavaria" called for resistance against the Nazi regime. In response, the Dachau group launched an uprising to end Nazi rule in the town and prevent the liquidation of the camp and the murder of the surviving prisoners. They managed to occupy the town hall, but by midday, units of the Waffen-SS entered the town and crushed the uprising.[6] A day after American troops liberated Dachau.
"An entire battalion of Allied troops was needed to restrain the 32,000 prisoners liberated at Dachau, and prevent excesses, says Reuters correspondent at S.H.A.E.F. The discovery of 50 railway trucks loaded with bodies and gas chambers, torture rooms, whipping posts and crematoria strongly supports reports of atrocities which leaked out of the camp."[16]
↑ Tuchel, Johannes (2005). Der vergessene Widerstand: zu Realgeschichte und Wahrnehmung des Kampfes gegen die NS-Diktatur (in German). Wallstein Verlag. p.95. ISBN978-3-89244-943-0.
↑ Langbein, Hermann (15 January 2016). ... nicht wie die Schafe zur Schlachtbank: Widerstand in den nationalsozialistischen Konzentrationslagern 1938–1945 (in German). FISCHER Digital. ISBN978-3-10-560897-5.
↑ Der große, Evakuierungsmarsch" in die, Alpenfestung" , Am Morgen des 26. April erfolgte das Startsignal zur Teilräumung des KZ Dachau selbst. Die SS befahl, daß sich Reichsdeutsche, Russen und Juden auf dem Dachauer Appellplatz aufzustellen hätten, und am Abend wurden dann knapp 7000 Haftlinge, rund ein Viertel davon Juden, in Gruppen zu 1500 mit dem Ziel Ötztal unter SS-Bewachung aus dem Lager getrieben. Die Häftlinge selbst wußten nicht, wohin sie kamen." p.18
↑ Befreiung des KZ Dachau, Some 6900 inmates of Dachau concentration camp had already been ‘evacuated’ on the evening of April 26, 1945 to keep them out of reach of the advancing Americans. The column of emaciated people was driven south along the river Würm. The night-time death march took them through Pasing and onwards through the Würmtal communities to Leutstetten, where they took their first rest on the morning of April 27. Here the column met around 2000 inmates who had been ‘evacuated’ from the Allach satellite camp the day before. On the evening of April 27, the column of inmates, which by now had grown to an estimated 10,000 people, continued their march along the east side of Lake Starnberg towards the Loisachtal valley."
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Schutzstaffel