By the summer of 1944, the Germans were losing more and more territory to the Soviet army. The front was shifting to the west so fast that the Nazis were afraid that their concentration and extermination camps would be discovered. And so, Himmler, head of the SS, decided to bring prisoners from Eastern Europe back to Germany. The camps would be emptier, the prisoners would not be able to tell the enemy anything, and they could still be used as forced labourers.
First, the prisoners were brought west by train. But from the autumn onwards, with the Soviets advancing, the prisoners had to walk long distances. The prisoners called these marches death marches. Under severe winter weather conditions, they were made to walk hundreds of kilometres without warm clothes and shoes, food or shelter. Those who were unable to keep up, were shot or beaten to death. Chances of survival were very slim indeed.