By Keyword:   Chapter PROLOGUE 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 EPILOGUE Or, Page Number: Click on an image to see a larger, more detailed picture.		1945: Liberation and Rebuilding  pg. 590    The death marches were, in many instances, extremely public. This group of weakened prisoners from Dachau was photographed marching through a tiny Bavarian village on its way through Wolfratshausen. Many of these prisoners cover their heads in order to protect themselves from the damp, chilly weather. Photo: R. Wirth/United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Photo Archive SS leader Heinrich Himmler (right) shares a moment of conversation with his personal physician and masseur, Felix Kersten. In the final days of the war, Kersten, who treated several of the Nazi leaders, served as an intermediary between representatives of the World Jewish Congress and the head of the SS. At two meetings held at Kersten's estate outside of Berlin, Himmler eventually agreed to free about 10,000 women held at the Ravensbrück, Germany, concentration camp. Photo: SYddeutscher Verlag Bilderdienst The Allied High Command was interested in what had occurred in the camps, and officers regularly toured them to gain information regarding Nazi crimes. Here, Generals George Patton, Omar Bradley, and Dwight Eisenhower (left to right) visit the Ohrdruf, Germany, camp--the first camp liberated by the Americans--on April 4, 1945. A former prisoner demonstrates SS torture techniques for them. Photo: National Archives/United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Photo Archive  January 21-29, 1945: Ninety-six Hungarian Jews interned at Auschwitz and working at a quarry at Golleschau, Germany, are sealed inside a pair of cattle cars labeled "Property of the SS." Half of the prisoners freeze to death as the train travels aimlessly for days. At Zwittau, Germany, the cattle cars are detached from the train and left at the station. Manufacturer Oskar Schindler alters the bill of lading to read "Final Destination--Schindler Factory, Brünnlitz." After unsealing the cars at his factory, Schindler frees the Jews; See April 26, 1945.  January 23, 1945: Soviet forces close on Auschwitz.   1945: Liberation and Rebuilding  pg. 590  The Holocaust Chronicle © 2009 Publications International, Ltd.