As the front lines of World War II shifted in January 1945, the threat posed by the advancing Red Army forced German authorities to take drastic action regarding the Auschwitz concentration camp. The SS-Totenkopfverbände, responsible for camp operations and guard units, initiated the evacuation of Auschwitz in an effort to relocate prisoners to various sites further west, including camps like Gross-Rosen and others in Germany. This move was aimed at both shielding the camp's operational details from Soviet forces and preventing the liberation of the prisoners who remained in Auschwitz.

The evacuation included harrowing forced marches where thousands of inmates, many of whom were emaciated from previous suffering, were compelled to march long distances during freezing winter conditions. These death marches resulted in severe physical strain, with the physically unable being executed by SS officers. As the Nazis aimed to maintain secrecy surrounding the atrocities committed within the camps, evidence of the systematic genocide was also at stake, making their evacuation attempts increasingly desperate as the Soviet forces drew closer.

Many survivors recount the overwhelming chaos, fear, and brutality experienced during this time. Despite the horrific circumstances, some were able to escape this process, while many others faced dire transportation in overcrowded trains, leading to additional suffering. The accumulation of deaths during these evacuation operations further highlighted the brutal reality of the Holocaust as those responsible sought to erase their tracks before the full extent of their actions could be uncovered.