Essay Sample on Nazi Death Marches

In the late 1930’s World War II began. When this war came, it brought mass death and destruction. During this time, Germany was on the hunt for more expansion of land and to end all the Jewish lives in Europe. As a result, millions upon millions of Jewish lives were lost. Even before the war began the “Nazis spread their power in interesting ways by using social control, a slow creeping control over the citizens, and minorities slowly getting singled out.”1 These key power moves spread the idea of Nazism and Fascism. By using these additional factors of routinization, propaganda, brutalization, and pogroms, attacks on the Jewish community were made easier. As Germany rose to power, life for Jewish people increasingly changed. Laws were put into place to dismiss Jewish community of their rights. With this, Germany also had the main goals to “dominate the Euro-Asian land mass and to make the German Aryan bloodline the controlling and top race and to destroy the non-Aryan races.”2 In 1939, when Germany had pulled the last straw, the war broke out. Many people know about death camps and concentration camps, but few knew about Death Marches. In this paper I hope to demonstrate what a death march is and its links to the German military. 

Firstly, it can be said that death marches were the enforced movement of Jewish people from one location to another. More specifically, a concentration camp. These forced movements were usually when “Soviet troops approached Auschwitz and other camps.”3. These movements were the effect of the Nazi leaders getting panic-stricken. The Axis were all mostly noncoastal countries. They more or less were surrounded. Having this outside pressure from the Allies made Germany highly unstable. When “The Russians from the East, and the Americans, British, and Canadians from the west.”4 pushed up against the German borders, their only option was to retreat back inwards. So, when the Allies moved closer to any of the concentration camps it caused the marches to move farther inland. As a result, Germany realized the end of the war was near. They sanctioned the Death Marches in an attempt to get the last of the Jews to closer concentration camps. With this, the SS wanted to cover up all the war crimes they committed by trying to destroy the remains of death camps and concentration camps. 

Likewise, these marches were not considered small. A good portion of the marches had tens of thousands of people that were all sent out. As illustrated by, “Over eleven thousand people set out marching in columns,”5 and “In all, some 25,000 marchers, mainly women, had been sent on foot...”6. With this, they usually were moved in rows or columns. The reasoning was to make it easier to see everyone. In these columns men, women, and children alike were all moved.  

Not only where are these marches extremely dangerous. But they also were forced to march at any time during the year. Even if it was in the middle of winter. In these conditions it is hard enough to walk long miles but adding the effects of winter is treacherous. For an example, “In mid-January 1940 in Poland, 800 Jewish prisoners of war from the Polish army were sent from their camp in Lublin and marched in bitter cold to Biala Podlaska, approximately 100 kilometres away. Only a few dozen survived.”7 and if one could not keep up, they would be shot while still standing. To sum it up, not only were these marches dangerous but also insanely treacherous.  

Secondly, one of the more secretive military connections to the Holocaust was the Death Marches. The SS is also known as the Schutzstaffel, a German military group that served under the Nazi party. This was a group of political soldiers was created by Hitler himself. These men were one the military forces whose main goal was to eliminate all Jewish people living in Europe. Likewise, the SS armed soldiers were known to be cold-hearted, inhumane, and overall dangerous. The Schutzstaffel was known to be head of command for the Death Marches.  

They often would even starve them even after miles of the excruciating marches. For instance, “skeletons. I mean skeletons! ...the first thing was these people must get food. All I had was cheese... and the minute I reached in and got the first piece, these people came literally crawling.”8 A scene viewed from a German school girl after a march had taken place. These Schutzstaffel soldiers who are not even depicted are ruthless. Many of these SS men did not care who got in the way, all that mattered was the termination of Jews.  

With this, there was no hesitation in these German military men. Their aggression, violence, and almost willingness to kill is chilling. The brutality is clear in “I dropped my pants the German guard slung his rife off and he pulled the rifle to load his bullet.”9 and “I was caught once picking up snow and was beaten up so severely with the wooden part of the rifle that I never dared to do it again.”10. The SS men was known to be ruthless and cruel. Just about all completely fell into the roles given to them.  

With creating the Death Marches, they also used it as an unusual technique for torture. Numerous accounts have been written about how they saw conversations between Jewish people and Schutzstaffel men. One said “I remember (her) walking up to an SS man and pleading with him, “Please shoot me. I cannot go on anymore.” You know what he said to her? “You’re not worth the bullet. Get back into line.”.”11 One could say that the German military men enjoyed seeing them suffer.  

All things considered, one of the few unrevealed truths of the Holocaust was the Death Marches. Before the marches even began, the movement of Fascism and Nazism was placed into the German government. This government then spread it to the people with the use of propaganda. When the war started in 1939, Death Marches were already going on. These marches were the outcome of when the Allies moved closer to Germany’s concentration camps. While trying to move all of the left-over Jews, they also made an effort in covering up what they had done. With this, Death Marches were produced. These marches were overseen by military men named the SS; they were directly watched over by Hitler. These SS men were seen by everyone as merciless, cold-blooded, and callous. They were known to have extremely underfeed the Jewish people that were in the marches. They also used the Death Marches as a way of torturing its victims. By putting their minds and bodies through rigorous trials of non-stop marching, grueling temperatures, and not feeding them though out the journey. Many Jewish people died during these marches and not one person was allowed to stop. Given these points, the German military men did in fact have a strong connection to the Death Marches.