Buchenwald, April 11, 1945
On April 8th, 1945, Buchenwald was partially evacuated by the Germans, but on April 11th, 1945 at 3:15 pm, (which is now the permanent time on the clock at the entrance gate), American soldiers from the 6th Armored Division, part of the U.S. 3rd Army, liberated about 20,000 prisoners. Right before the liberation, the SS soldiers had escaped and some of the inmates took control of the camp. On April 12th, U.S. 80th Infantry Division took control of the camp and along with them arrived several journalists.
The most famous being the report of Edward R. Murrow which was broadcast on CBS:
"I asked to see one of the barracks. It happened to be occupied by Czechoslovaks. When I entered, men crowded around, tried to lift me to their shoulders. They were too weak. Many of them could not get out of bed. I was told that this building had once stabled 80 horses. There were 1,200 men in it, five to a bunk. The stink was beyond all description.They called the doctor. We inspected his records. There were only names in the little black book, nothing more. Nothing about who these men were, what they had done, or hoped. Behind the names of those who had died, there was a cross. I counted them. They totalled 242. 242 out of 1,200, in one month.
As we walked out into the courtyard, a man fell dead. Two others, they must have been over 60, were crawling toward the latrine. I saw it, but will not describe it."
—Extract from Edward R. Murrow's Buchenwald report. April 15, 1945.
The most famous being the report of Edward R. Murrow which was broadcast on CBS:
"I asked to see one of the barracks. It happened to be occupied by Czechoslovaks. When I entered, men crowded around, tried to lift me to their shoulders. They were too weak. Many of them could not get out of bed. I was told that this building had once stabled 80 horses. There were 1,200 men in it, five to a bunk. The stink was beyond all description.They called the doctor. We inspected his records. There were only names in the little black book, nothing more. Nothing about who these men were, what they had done, or hoped. Behind the names of those who had died, there was a cross. I counted them. They totalled 242. 242 out of 1,200, in one month.
As we walked out into the courtyard, a man fell dead. Two others, they must have been over 60, were crawling toward the latrine. I saw it, but will not describe it."
—Extract from Edward R. Murrow's Buchenwald report. April 15, 1945.
Dachau, April 29, 1945
More than 100,000 prisoners were incarcerated in Dachau from 1933-1945. Dachau was formally surrendered by the SS to the American Army on April 29th, 1945. When the Americans arrived to liberate, there were 30 railroad cars filled with newly decomposing corpses. Many American Soldiers were so horrified by the conditions within the camp and also by the conditions of the prisoners, that several soldiers killed some of the German guards even after they surrendered.
Flossenburg, April 23, 1945
In April 1945, German's forced evacuation of approximately 22,000 prisoners, sending them on death marches and leaving behind only those who were too ill or weak to walk. Only 1,500 ill and weak prisoners remained in the camp for liberation on April 23, 1945
Dora-Mittelbau
Originally a sub camp of Buchenwald and located almost completely underground. During the early days of April, 1945 the Nazis evacuated as many prisoners as they could, sending some to Bergen Belsen or on death marches. When the American troops liberated the camp a few days later, only a few prisoners were left.
Mauthausen, May 5th, 1945
Mauthausen was one of the last camps to be liberated by the Allies and out of all the sub-camps, only Gusen III was evacuated by the SS on May 1st, 1945. The camp was liberated on May 5th, 1945 by a squad of U.S. Army Soldiers of the Reconnaissance Squadron of the U.S. 11th Armored Division, 3rd US Army. By May 6th, the U.S. had liberated all remaining sub-camps, with the exception of two camps in the Loibl Pass.
Main Source:
http://www.ushmm.org/
Other references:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buchenwald_concentration_camp#Liberation_from_Nazi_Germany
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachau_concentration_camp#Liberation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flossenb%C3%BCrg_concentration_camp#Death_march_and_liberation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauthausen-Gusen_concentration_camp#Liberation_and_post-war_heritage
http://www.ushmm.org/
Other references:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buchenwald_concentration_camp#Liberation_from_Nazi_Germany
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachau_concentration_camp#Liberation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flossenb%C3%BCrg_concentration_camp#Death_march_and_liberation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauthausen-Gusen_concentration_camp#Liberation_and_post-war_heritage