“The March” By: Kristine Paske

“The March” has many other names. Some of which are; The Great March West The Long March The Long Walk The Long Trek The Black March The Bread March

What does it “The March” refer to? It refers to a series of death marches in the final stage of the World War two. Over 80,000 Allied Prisoners of War (POWs) were forced to march across 500 miles in blizzard-like weather.

Overview Why did Hitler order the Death Marches? The Soviet Army was advancing into Poland. The Nazis evacuated to prevent liberation of the prisoners by the Russians.

Hitler’s Issued Orders Item 6(a) stated to start “preparations for moving prisoners of war to the rear” This instruction forced hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers and airmen into starvation and death

Rumors Around the Camps Many thought that they would be held hostage to help in a peace deal with the Allies. Some thought that they were being moved to Belsen to be exterminated in revenge for the bombing of German cities. There were also claims that they were going to be marched to their deaths.

Main Allied POW Evacuation Routes There were three main routes. –The Northern Route Some prisoners were marched from here towards the end of the war. –The Central Route 30 km south of Berlin –The Southern Route Led through Czechoslovakia

The March Was in January and February and into the middle of March –Temperatures as low as -13 F Most of the prisoners were ill-prepared for the evacuations due to years of poor rations and ‘rags’ for clothes

The March (cont.) In most camps the prisoners were broken up into groups of 250 to 300 men. The groups would march 20 to 40 kilometers a day. They would rest in factories, churches, barns, and even in the open.

Different Camps. Different Experiences Sometimes Germans provided wagons –There were no horses so the able-bodied POWs pulled the wagons Sometimes, passing through towns, villagers would throw bricks and stones at the prisoners, while others handed out food. The prisoners that tried to escape were shot.

Food? There was no food so the prisoners mainly relied on scavenging. Some ate dogs and cats. Sometimes even grass and rats.

What the POWs mainly died of. The main causes of death were: –Exhaustion, pneumonia, diphtheria, pellagra. –Typhus was spread by body lice. –Frostbite from sleeping on the ground. They were also in fear of Allied planes that may have mistaken them for retreating columns of German soldiers.

Liberation Many were freed when the Germans ran into advancing Allied troops. Others were forced to the Baltic Sea where it was said that the Germans were using the POWs as human shields. –Norman Jardine, a POW that was liberated, said that his group were each given a revolver and told to shoot any of the guards that had treated them unfairly. He stated that “We did!”

Total Number of British and American POW deaths. There was a total of 273,000 POWs in German camps. Of which only about 10,000 died in German control. (compared to 250,000 Jews that died in the Death Marches they were forced to go on) died

Blame for the Marches The main blame for the marches was General- lieutenant Gottlob Berger. –The indictment read: "that between September 1944 and May 1945, hundreds of thousands of American and Allied prisons of war were compelled to undertake forced marches in severe weather without adequate rest, shelter, food, clothing and medical supplies; and that such forced marches, conducted under the authority of the defendant Berger, chief of Prisoner-of-War Affairs, resulted in great privation and deaths to many thousands of prisoners.” He was sentenced to ten years in prison.

Annotations The Last Escape –Is a book written by John Nichol and Tony Rennell. It tells the true stories of American and British POWs in WWII. For You the War is Over –A book written by David A. Foy. It tells the story of American POWs in Germany.

Bibliography Foy, David. For You the War is Over. Futura, London: Stein and Day, Print. Rennell, Tony, and John Nichol. The Last Escape. Viking, New York: John Nichol and Tony Rennell, Print.

Pictures bibliography Slide 1 – Slide 2 – Slide 3 – Slide 4 – – Slide 7 – Slide 8 – 3Fq%3DPOWs%2Bin%2Bww2%26start%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20% 26tbs%3Disch:1http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=f507838e0c8266fc&q=POWs%20in%20ww2&prev=/images% 3Fq%3DPOWs%2Bin%2Bww2%26start%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20% 26tbs%3Disch:1 Slide 9 – Slide 11 –