Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me – Psalm 23/4*
Seventy two years ago – in the evening on 17th January 1945 after the last camp appeal, begun evacuation of prisoners from KL Auschwitz complex. 67012 of prisoners stood ready for the last appeal. That’s how the prisoners exodus started of a hard, and in some cases lethal, tragic route of the Death March from the main camp and local subcamps. SS-men rushed prisoners through different evacuation routes to Gliwice and Wodzisław. From there, they were moved by trains to other concentration camps, deeper in the Reich.
On the days 17 – 21 January, through main road in Brzeszcze went around 25 thousand prisoners. In that column were also inmates from subcamps located in our city, KL Auschwitz-Bór/Budy and KL Auschwitz-Jawischowitz. Many from that several tens of thousands of prisoners couldn’t withstand since the beginning of the murderous road. They died either of exhaustion or by the bullets of SS.
19 January 1945 roku, german mayor of Brzeszcze ordered locals burial of corpses of deceased prisoners, left along the evecuation route spanning from Rajsko, through Brzeszcze, as far as outskirts of Jawiszowice – they have collected 18 bodies both of men and women.
Brzeszcze became final resting place and first mass grave for the victims of Death March. Next mass grave/monument mound is located at Miedźna city.
Identyfying the bodies was conducted in cooperation by National Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau and Yad Vashem institute.
At the cemetery in Brzeszcze there are buried these prisoners of ex german nazi concentration camp complex KL Auschwitz :
174315 KOHN ALFRED jewish prisoner
190325 SAUER BALTHASAR catholic prisoner
190851 WERNER RICHARD jewish prisoner
69959 GERST (no data) jewish prisoner
16149 (male, no data)
……… WEISS ANNA jewish prisoner
A22322 ( female, no data) jewish prisoner
A26059 ( female, no data) jewish prisoner
A27174 ( female, no data) jewish prisoner
TWO UNIDENTIFIED MEN
SEVEN UNIDENTIFIED WOMEN
We salute their memory
*citing engraved on the tomb of Death March victims in Brzeszcze (in polish, english and hebrew), originates from Book of Psalms.
