Buchenwald album, picture no. 8/29: Liberated young inmates standing at a barbed-wire fence of the Little Camp, after 11.04.1945, photographer unknown. Source: Arolsen Archives
The Second World War ended in Europe on May 8, 1945. Our dossier highlights a range of perspectives on liberation. We share the stories of survivors and of displaced persons who committed themselves to helping others; we report on the confrontation with guilt and the terrible horrors encountered by Allied soldiers while liberating the camps; and we shine a spotlight on the post-war period, when only a small number of perpetrators were brought to justice for their crimes.
May 8, 1945, is Liberation Day in Germany. It marks the date of the German Wehrmacht’s unconditional surrender – and therefore the end of the Second World War in Europe. The capitulation was signed on May 7 at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force in Reims, France, followed by a second signing on the night of May 9 in the presence of a Soviet Army delegation in Berlin-Karlshorst. According to Moscow local time, it was already the next day, which is why Russia celebrates the official end of the war on 9 May.
A long road to liberation
The liberation of Germany from the Nazi regime was more than just a single date – it was a long, dramatic process that lasted many months. It began with the landing of Allied troops in Normandy and continued with fierce battles, while a steady stream of reports revealed the horrors of the concentration camps. As the Allies advanced, the Nazis tried to cover up their crimes – they destroyed files, cleared camps, dispatched prisoners on death marches and committed the cruelest acts of violence right up to the very end. At the end of the war, there were around 11 million displaced persons in Germany, i.e. people who had been deported by the National Socialists from their home countries for forced labor or imprisonment in concentration camps. Criminal prosecution began in the midst of this scenario. Tens of thousands of accused war criminals were tried in international, national and military courts. At the same time, numerous perpetrators of the Nazi regime sought and found ways to evade accountability.
Perspectives on liberation
Our dossier marking 80 years of liberation presents a range of perspectives on the end of Nazi rule and its aftermath.
After liberation, large numbers of displaced persons were not just survivors – they became witnesses, activists and organizers. Many campaigned for documentation, education and justice – often on their own initiative and almost always under extremely difficult circumstances.
Walter Cieślik in prisoner clothing at his desk in the IIO, Dachau, 5 June 1945. Source: Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial, DaA F 1832/33281
Facing the guilt
How did Germans perceive the suffering endured by concentration camp prisoners? Civilians – children and adults alike – were confronted with the horrors of the Nazi regime not only during its rule, but also in the days following liberation.
Detailed view of the “Jonastal” construction site near Arnstadt. Between November 1944 and April 1945, thousands of prisoners from the Buchenwald subcamp in Ohrdruf were forced to work here. The photo was taken from the concrete mixing plant to the left of tunnel no. 16. Source: Buchenwald Memorial, photographer: Ernst Kott, October 1945, 140.003.
„It was a hunger march“
Coercion, violence and exhaustion: the death marches mark the last gruesomechapter of Nazi crimes. Petro Mishchuk survived 13 camps in total and was sent on grueling marches. He survived those as well. We summarize his story and provide a link to an interview with him as a contemporary witness.
Petro Mishchuk at a memorial event in Jonastal 2015. Source: Klaus-Peter Schambach, www.tatort-jonastal.de
Beyond the limits of imagination
What did the Allied soldiers find when they reached the camps and liberated the victims of Nazi terror? The soldiers were not prepared for the horrific scenes that awaited them, and the images haunted them for the rest of their lives.
Buchenwald, 16. April 1945. Photo: Harry Miller, National Archives, Washington, 111-SC 20 36 27 – S. Source: Photo Archive Buchenwald, 020-46.007
Defeat, liberation or victory? ?
How was May 8, 1945 commemorated in the GDR, how is it remembered today in the FRG and in the countries that fought against the German Reich? How has the view of the end of the War changed and what does it look like today?
With the collapse of the Nazi regime, many perpetrators fled – and many evaded accountability. Guilt was systematically concealed, prosecution avoided and trials prevented.
