Auschwitz was liberated in January 1945, but for thousands of Poles, the nightmare didn’t end.
Many of us believe the heroic liberation of Auschwitz, exactly 80 years ago, brought joy into the lives of would-be victims. After all, the Allied Powers had the Nazis on the run, captured the concentration camp, and saved the lives of thousands in the process. However, although the liberation of Auschwitz on January 27, 1945, by Soviet troops marked a significant moment in history, for thousands of Poles, the nightmare did not end with the camp’s liberation.
When the Red Army arrived at Auschwitz, they found approximately 7,000 weak and emaciated prisoners who had been left behind. Many of these survivors were too ill to leave, and some died of disease, exhaustion, or malnutrition in the days and weeks following liberation. The Soviet military and Polish Red Cross established field hospitals to care for these remaining prisoners, but the challenges were immense.
Prior to the camp’s liberation, Hitler’s SS had forced nearly 60,000 prisoners on brutal death marches westward. These marches, which began on January 17, 1945, resulted in the deaths of thousands of prisoners due to exhaustion, hypothermia, or execution by SS guards. It is estimated that at least 15,000 people did not survive these evacuations.
Perhaps one of the most overlooked aspects of post-liberation Auschwitz is the establishment of Soviet transit camps and Polish forced labor camps on the premises. From February 1945 through at least the spring of 1946, parts of Auschwitz I and II were used by communist authorities as internment and transit camps.
According to survivor accounts, the living and working conditions in these camps were not significantly different from those under Nazi rule.
The conditions in these Soviet-run camps were brutal and inhumane as prisoners faced severe overcrowding and unsanitary conditions, including lice-ridden mattresses. Starvation was rampant, with food rations barely sufficient for survival while disease, particularly tuberculosis and dysentery, spread rapidly due to poor living conditions. Inmates were also subjected to interrogations, torture, and political indoctrination.
It is estimated that about 200,000 people, including 90,000 Silesian men and women, passed through “Communist Auschwitz” on their way to Soviet forced labor camps.
For those who survived and left the camp, the road to recovery was long and painful. Many confronted the grief of losing entire families and faced the daunting task of rebuilding their lives. Some Polish survivors who returned to their hometowns encountered hostility and even violence. The Kielce pogrom in July 1946, where 42 Jews were killed by townspeople, exemplifies the resurgence of anti-Semitism in post-war Poland.
The psychological scars of Auschwitz remained with survivors long after liberation. Even those who received medical care struggled with the trauma of their experiences. For instance, some survivors hid when nurses came to bathe them, associating the word “bath” with the gas chambers, while others hoarded bread, unable to believe they would be fed regularly.
While the liberation of Auschwitz marked the end of one horrific chapter, it did not bring immediate relief or safety to thousands of Polish survivors.
The aftermath of Auschwitz continued to cast a long shadow over their lives, with many facing continued hardship, discrimination, and the immense challenge of rebuilding their shattered world.