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On June 6, 1944 (known as D-Day), the western Allies launched the single largest amphibious invasion force in world history, landing almost 150,000 soldiers under the command of U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower on the beaches of Normandy, France. By the end of the month, more than 850,000 American, British, and Canadian troops had come ashore to embark upon what Eisenhower called the “Great Crusade,” the “destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.”
On June 22, 1944, Soviet forces opened a major offensive that crushed the German forces defending the center of the eastern front in western Belorussia, sweeping the line of the front into central Poland by early August.
As Allied and Soviet troops moved across Europe in a series of offensives against Nazi Germany, they encountered concentration camps, mass graves, and numerous other sites of Nazi crimes. Soviet forces were the first to overrun a major Nazi concentration camp, Lublin/Majdanek, near Lublin, Poland, in July 1944. On January 27, 1945, Soviet troops liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp complex, where they discovered some 7,000 prisoners, including young children, who had not been evacuated by the SS. American soldiers, too, witnessed evidence of the Holocaust and Nazi atrocities as they marched into the interior of Germany, liberating the major concentration camps such as Buchenwald, Dachau, and Mauthausen as well as hundreds of subcamps, including Ohrdruf (a subcamp of Buchenwald). Though the liberation of Nazi camps was not a primary objective of the Allied military campaign, U.S, British, Canadian, and Soviet troops freed prisoners from their SS guards, provided them with food and badly needed medical support, and collected evidence for war crimes trials.
On May 8, 1945, less than one year after D-Day, Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender became official, and the world could celebrate the liberation of Europe from Nazi rule.
In 2004, with the 60th anniversary of D-Day, the nation honored veterans of World War II with a memorial on the national mall. 2005 marked the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of World War II. Explore the links on this page to learn about the liberators' experiences as Allied troops moved across Europe during the war.
MAP
View maps about World War II and liberation.
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VIDEO
View film footage of D-Day and the liberation of the camps.
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PHOTO
View photographs showing the liberation of the camps.
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TESTIMONY
Listen to survivors and liberators describe their experiences.
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RELATED LINKS
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Honoring Liberation
(Video) -
Stories of Liberation
(USC Shoah Foundation Institute) -
From Liberation to the Pursuit of Justice
(Days of Remembrance 2005) -
Liberation of Auschwitz
(Special Focus) -
Liberation Encounters
(Personal Histories) -
Aftermath of Liberation
(Personal Histories) -
Liberation
(Holocaust Encyclopedia article) -
Liberators
(USHMM Library bibliography) -
“Which U.S. Army units liberated concentration camps?”
(Holocaust Encyclopedia article) -
Web links about liberation
(USHMM Library) -
D-Day
(Holocaust Encyclopedia article) -
Death Marches
(Holocaust Encyclopedia article) -
World War II liberation photography: Learning about photographs you may have in your home
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11th Armoured Division (Great Britain)
(Holocaust Encyclopedia article) -
2nd Canadian Division
(Holocaust Encyclopedia article)
DID YOU KNOW...
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As Allied troops moved across Europe, they encountered concentration camps, mass graves, and numerous other sites of Nazi crimes. However, the liberation of Nazi camps was not a primary objective of the Allied military campaign.
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Soviet forces were the first to approach a major Nazi camp, reaching Majdanek near Lublin, Poland, in July 1944.
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Disease remained an ever-present danger and liberators had to burn down many of the camps to prevent the spread of epidemics.
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Though most American GIs did not have access to a camera, some did and took their own photos as they encountered the camps and other sites of atrocities.
