1944: Key Dates
The year 1944 was the last full year of World War II in Europe and an intense period of mass killing in the Holocaust. That year, Allied forces achieved major military victories, driving Nazi Germany further into retreat. For the first time, the Allies also liberated Nazi concentration camps. But Allied conquests did not stop the Nazi mass murder of Jews. It continued on a mass scale at the Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center throughout 1944.
Key Facts
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1
In 1944, as Nazi Germany’s ultimate defeat began to seem more likely, there was increased resistance to Nazi rule and the Axis alliance crumbled.
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2
In 1944, Nazi Germany and its Hungarian collaborators deported about 430,000 Jews from Hungary to the Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center. Among them was Elie Wiesel.
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3
The year 1944 also saw increased attempts to rescue Jews who remained alive and in danger from the Nazis and their allies and collaborators.
The year 1944 was one of the most consequential in the history of World War II and the Holocaust. It was the last full year of the war in Europe and an intense period of mass killing, especially at the Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center.
In 1944, it was clear that Nazi Germany and its Axis partners were losing World War II. That year, the Allies achieved many strategic military victories. The Soviets drove the Germans out of much of eastern Europe, including out of Soviet Belarus, Soviet Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, as well as much of Lithuania and eastern Poland. The western Allies landed on the beaches of Normandy and forced the Germans out of most of France and Belgium, parts of the Netherlands, and all of Luxembourg. They also made their way up the Italian peninsula, pushing German forces back. In southern Europe, the Germans were driven out of most of Yugoslavia and Greece.
In the face of its looming defeat, the Axis alliance frayed. Many of Nazi Germany’s Axis partners attempted to make separate peace deals with the Allied powers.
Even as the war turned further against them, Nazi Germany and its collaborators continued to perpetrate the mass murder of European Jews. In 1944, some well-known Holocaust survivors and victims arrived at Auschwitz. They included Anne Frank, Primo Levi, Ruth Klüger, Viktor Frankl, and Elie Wiesel. Hundreds of thousands of others arrived at Auschwitz that year. Mass gassings of Jews continued there until late 1944.
The year 1944 also saw increased attempts to rescue Jews who remained alive and in danger. By 1944, more information about the mass murder of Jews had become available to the US government and the general public in the United States and beyond. In response, the United States created a new government agency, the War Refugee Board, tasked with saving lives. The War Refugee Board worked with aid organizations and neutral nations to provide humanitarian assistance, protest Nazi atrocities, and help Jews.
Below is a list of some of the most important dates from the year 1944. This includes significant dates related to:
- the course of World War II in Europe;
- the dissolution of the Axis alliance;
- the SS evacuation of concentration camps;
- the Allied liberation of concentration camps;
- developments in the Nazi mass murder of Europe’s Jews and persecution and murder of other groups;
- rescue and relief operations; and
- American responses to the mass murder of Europe’s Jews.
January 22, 1944: US President Roosevelt Creates the War Refugee Board
US President Franklin D. Roosevelt issues Executive Order 9417, creating the War Refugee Board (WRB) to provide relief for Jews and others targeted by Nazi Germany. The WRB's creation marks the first time the United States adopts a policy of trying to rescue victims of Nazi persecution. Roosevelt instructs the War Refugee Board to “take all measures within its power to rescue the victims of enemy oppression in imminent danger of death,” as long as these measures do not interfere with the war effort.
February 15, 1944: Romania Abolishes the Transnistria Governorate
As the Soviet army approaches, Romania (an ally of Nazi Germany) starts planning its withdrawal from the Transnistria Governorate. On February 15, 1944, the Romanians abolish the governorate and put a military administration in its place. For a short time in March 1944, they place the territory under the control of German authorities. The Soviets soon push the Germans out. In the Transnistria Governorate, Romanian and local auxiliaries murder an estimated 280,000 to 380,000 Jews between 1941 and 1944.
February 26, 1944: Primo Levi Arrives at Auschwitz
Italian Jewish chemist Primo Levi arrives as a prisoner at Auschwitz. He survives the Holocaust and goes on to write several famous books about his experiences. This includes his 1947 work Se questo è un uomo (If This is a Man, also published in English as Survival in Auschwitz). One of Levi’s famous essays discusses the concept of “the grey zone” and the morally ambiguous position of prisoner functionaries.
February 28, 1944: Authorities Raid Corrie ten Boom’s Home in Haarlem
Authorities in German-occupied Haarlem raid Corrie ten Boom’s family home. The ten Booms are part of a resistance and rescue network. They are hiding Jews and members of the Dutch resistance. The people in hiding remain undiscovered, but Corrie ten Boom and several members of her family, including her sister Betsie, are imprisoned.
February–March 1944: A Beautification Campaign Begins to Transform the Theresienstadt Ghetto
In early 1944, German authorities at the Theresienstadt ghetto begin to prepare for a visit from an international delegation. The Germans order the beautification of the ghetto. They force the inmates to create a music pavilion, decorative signs, a playground, and a theater. Barbed wire fences are removed. All of these changes are part of an elaborate hoax. The Germans are trying to trick the international observers into believing that conditions in Theresienstadt are good.
March 8–9, 1944: Murder of Jews in the Theresienstadt Family Camp at Auschwitz
On March 8–9, 1944, Nazi German authorities murder almost 3,800 Jews from the Theresienstadt family camp in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The victims had been deported to Auschwitz in September 1943.
March 19, 1944: Nazi Germany Occupies Hungary, Endangering Hundreds of Thousands of Jews
In March 1944, Nazi Germany decides to occupy its ally Hungary for military reasons related to Hungary’s increasing reluctance to support the Axis war effort. On March 19, the German military enters Hungary relatively unopposed. One of Nazi Germany’s goals is to carry out the deportation and mass murder of Jews from the country. At the time, there are between 760,000 and 780,000 Jews living in Hungary.
Late March 1944: SS Authorities Order the Evacuation of the Majdanek Camp
SS authorities order the evacuation of the Lublin concentration camp (called Majdanek). Camp staff prepare prisoner transport lists. The first transports of prisoners leave for other concentration camps in April 1944.
March 22, 1944: Reports about Nazi Atrocities at Auschwitz Appear in American Newspapers
American newspaper outlets write about Nazi atrocities at the Auschwitz concentration camp. The news is based on a report issued by the Polish government-in-exile in London. The report states that over 500,000 people, mostly Jews, have been killed at Auschwitz by means of gas and then cremated.
March 24, 1944: President Roosevelt Condemns Mass Murder of Jews
President Roosevelt issues a statement drafted by the War Refugee Board. It acknowledges that the “wholesale systematic murder of the Jews of Europe goes on unabated every hour.” He threatens the perpetrators of the crimes with postwar punishment after the Allies win the war. He calls on Germans and other Europeans to help those in danger. Allied planes drop leaflets containing the text over enemy territory, and Allied news organizations print and broadcast his words.
April 5, 1944: Hungarian Jews Are Required to Wear a Yellow Star Badge in Public
A decree requiring all Jews over the age of six in Hungary to wear the yellow star badge goes into effect. This is one of many anti-Jewish measures that the Hungarian government adopts after the German occupation.
April 7, 1944: Vrba and Wetzler Escape Auschwitz
Slovak Jews Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler begin their escape from Auschwitz. They arrive in Žilina, Slovakia, by the end of April. There, they give oral and written reports about what they experienced and witnessed at Auschwitz. Vrba and Wetzler's firsthand report is distributed worldwide in summer 1944. Excerpts of the report appear in the international press.
April 16, 1944: Authorities Begin to Establish Ghettos in Hungary
Beginning on April 16, 1944, Hungarian and German authorities work together to set up transit ghettos. Jews are imprisoned there for days or weeks until they are deported. They are guarded by Hungarian authorities and provided with limited food, shelter, and medical care.
May 15, 1944: Systematic Deportations of Jews from Hungary to Auschwitz Begin
On May 15, German deportation experts and Hungarian gendarmes begin to systematically deport Jews from Hungary. Between May 15 and July 9, 1944, they deport approximately 437,000 Jews on 147 trains. The vast majority (about 420,000) are deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center, where some 75 percent are murdered in the gas chambers.
May 15–18, 1944: Deportations of Prisoners from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz
In May 1944, German authorities deport approximately 7,500 prisoners from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz. Their goal is to lessen overcrowding in the ghetto in preparation for the upcoming visit from an international delegation. Among those deported are twelve-year-old Ruth Klüger and her mother. Ruth survives the Holocaust and goes on to write a memoir. It was published first in German and then in English as Still Alive: A Holocaust Girlhood Remembered (2001).
Late May 1944: Elie Wiesel Arrives at Auschwitz
Fifteen-year-old Elie Wiesel is deported from Sighet (today Sighetu Marmației) in Hungarian-annexed Romania. At Auschwitz, Wiesel is selected for forced labor. He survives and goes on to write about his experiences. His most famous work is Night (1960). Decades later, Wiesel becomes a driving force behind the creation of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
May 26, 1944: SS Photographers Take Photographs of Jewish Deportees from Hungary at Auschwitz
SS photographers take photos of a transport of Jews arriving at Auschwitz-Birkenau from the Beregszász ghetto. Some of the photos are included in an album depicting the arrival, selection, and registration of Jews from Hungary at Auschwitz. This photo album is commonly called the “Auschwitz Album.”
June 4, 1944: Allied Forces Capture Rome
Allied forces capture Rome, the capital of Fascist Italy. The Allied forces liberate thousands of Jews in hiding in the city. Fascist Italy had been an ally of Nazi Germany. However, Rome has been under German occupation since September 1943. That month, German forces had invaded Italy after Italy signed an armistice with the western Allies.
June 6, 1944: D-Day, Allied Forces Launch Operation Overlord in France
Allied forces launch Operation Overlord on June 6, 1944. This date is known as “D-Day.” More than 150,000 primarily American, British, and Canadian troops land near Normandy, France, by air and sea. D-Day marks the opening of an Allied front in western Europe. In the months that follow, the western Allies (led by Britain and the United States) drive German troops out of France and other western European countries.
June 9, 1944: President Roosevelt Creates the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter
At the urging of the War Refugee Board, President Roosevelt announces the establishment of the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter in Oswego, New York. He promises the American people that the refugees will return to Europe after the war. Allied officials and relief workers choose nearly 1,000 men, women, and children—the majority of them Jewish—to travel from Allied-occupied Italy to live at the shelter. Many of the refugees had survived German, Italian, or Croatian-run camps.
June 18, 1944: First Requests for the United States to Bomb Rail Lines to Auschwitz
American Jewish organizations begin to request the bombing of Auschwitz. Throughout the summer, the War Refugee Board receives requests from various American Jewish organizations to bomb the rail lines leading to Auschwitz or the gas chambers and crematoria in Birkenau. John Pehle, the director of the War Refugee Board, passes these pleas to the US Assistant Secretary of War, John J. McCloy. McCloy consistently rejects the requests.
June 22, 1944: Soviet Forces Launch Operation Bagration
The Soviet army launches an offensive in eastern Belarus. It is called “Operation Bagration.” This is followed by another Soviet offensive further south, focusing on the area around Lwów. From June to August 1944, Soviet forces drive the German army out of Soviet Belarus and parts of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and eastern Poland. The Soviet offensive halts on the outskirts of Warsaw.
June 23, 1944: A Delegation of the Red Cross and Danish Government Visits the Theresienstadt Ghetto
An international delegation visits Theresienstadt. The delegation includes one representative from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and two officials from the Danish government (one of whom also represents the Danish Red Cross). The delegation’s visit is highly choreographed. They are shown only selected aspects of life in the ghetto, including cultural performances.
June 23, 1944: Murder of Jews from Łódź at Chełmno (Kulmhof) Killing Center Restarts
In early 1944, SS and police officials decide to reopen the Chełmno (Kulmhof) killing center in order to murder the remaining inhabitants of the Łódź ghetto. Transports from the Łódź ghetto to the Chełmno killing center resume on June 23, 1944. From June 23 to July 14, over 7,000 people are taken from the ghetto to Chełmno. Almost all of them are murdered in gas vans upon arrival.
June 30, 1944: Kasztner Rescue Transport Leaves Budapest
A special transport of Jews, known as the Kasztner transport, leaves Budapest. It is the result of negotiations between Rudolf Kasztner, a prominent Jewish Hungarian leader, and Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi official. They agree to the safe passage of more than 1,600 Jews in exchange for money. Despite a promise from Eichmann that the train will travel directly to safety, the transport is sent to the Bergen-Belsen camp. Eventually, the prisoners are released to Switzerland.
July 2–7, 1944: Execution of Jews at the Ponary Killing Site near Wilno
On July 2, German authorities begin liquidating the labor camps in Wilno in German-occupied Poland (today Vilnius, Lithuania). They murder most of the remaining Jewish prisoners at the Ponary killing site. Shortly afterwards, Soviet forces drive the Germans from the city.
July 7, 1944: Hungarian Leader Orders a Halt on Deportations from Hungary
Hungarian leader Miklós Horthy orders a halt to the deportations of Jews from Hungary. The systematic deportations to Auschwitz continue for two more days from cities around Budapest. After the official stop, several other smaller-scale deportations leave Hungary for Auschwitz. Including isolated transports in April and July–August, the total number of Jews deported from Hungary to Auschwitz in 1944 is 430,000.
July 8, 1944: SS Evacuation of Prisoners from the Kauen Concentration Camp Begins
In early July 1944, as Soviet forces approach the Lithuanian city of Kaunas (also called Kovno), the Germans evacuate the Kauen concentration camp. They deport the Jewish women to the Stutthof concentration camp and the men to the Dachau concentration camp. Most of the approximately 6,000 Jews deported from Kauen at this time later die in these camps.
July 9, 1944: Rescuer Raoul Wallenberg Arrives in Budapest
Swedish businessman Raoul Wallenberg arrives in Budapest to help rescue Jews. He was recruited by the War Refugee Board. Over the next several months, Wallenberg works with diplomats from other countries (including Carl Lutz from Switzerland) to try to protect Jews. They open safe houses and distribute documents of protection. These efforts shield tens of thousands of Budapest Jews from German and Hungarian deportation plans.
July 10–11, 1944: Murder of the Last Jews in the Theresienstadt Family Camp at Auschwitz
The SS murders the Jewish women and children remaining in the Theresienstadt family camp in Auschwitz. Earlier in July, the SS had carried out a number of selections, choosing certain prisoners from the family camp for forced labor. On July 11, knowing she and her older son will soon be murdered, Vilma Grunwald writes a farewell letter to her husband, Kurt. Kurt had been selected for labor with their younger son.
July 15, 1944: Auschwitz Staff Gather to Honor Rudolf Höss
SS officers stationed at the Auschwitz camp gather for a farewell celebration honoring Rudolf Höss. Höss had returned to Auschwitz in May 1944 to oversee the murder of hundreds of thousands of Jews from Hungary. By July 15, Höss and other Auschwitz staff have largely completed this murderous task. Photographs of this event are discovered decades later in the Höcker Album.
July 20, 1944: Attempted Assassination of Adolf Hitler
German Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler and overthrow the Nazi regime. The conspirators include military officers and civilians. Hitler survives the assassination attempt, and the coup fails. The Nazi German regime responds harshly to the plot. It executes thousands of conspirators (real and imagined) and cracks down on German civil society.
July 22–25, 1944: German Authorities Abandon the Majdanek Camp and Soviet Forces Liberate the Camp
At the end of July 1944, German authorities abandon the Lublin concentration camp (called Majdanek) as Soviet forces drive them out of the city of Lublin. Even though the Germans attempt to destroy the camp, they leave much of it intact, including its gas chambers. The last transport of prisoners leaves Majdanek on July 22. Shortly afterwards, Soviet troops liberate the remaining prisoners, most of whom are sick and emaciated. The Soviets uncover clear evidence of Nazi crimes. They see mounds of personal items that the Nazis stole from the Jews whom they had murdered at Majdanek and other sites. In the weeks that follow, photos and film footage of Majdanek taken by Soviet cameramen appear in the international press.
July 23, 1944: Deportation of Jews from the Island of Rhodes
Nazi German authorities deport approximately 1,600 Jews from occupied Rhodes to Auschwitz-Birkenau. The transport leaves the island of Rhodes by ship on July 23. En route to Auschwitz, hundreds of Jews from parts of Greece are added to the transport. A total of 2,500 Greek Jews arrive at Auschwitz on August 16. Most are murdered in the gas chambers upon arrival. This was the last transport from Greece to Auschwitz.
July 31, 1944: The Last Transport of Jews Leaves Drancy Transit Camp for Auschwitz
A transport of about 1,300 Jews leaves Drancy transit camp in German-occupied France. The transport arrives at Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center on August 3, 1944. Most of those on board are murdered in the gas chambers upon arrival. Less than one month later, Allied forces liberate the Drancy transit camp.
August 1, 1944: Soviet Forces Drive Germans Out of Kaunas
The Soviet army drives German forces out of the Lithuanian city of Kaunas (Kovno). They liberate about 500 Jews who have survived in the forests or in underground bunkers.
August 1, 1944: Warsaw Uprising Begins in German-Occupied Poland
The Polish Home Army, the underground resistance force aligned with the Polish government-in-exile, initiates the citywide Warsaw Uprising in the hopes of driving out the German occupiers and reclaiming their capital city. For 63 days, fighting rages through Warsaw, as civilians join the battle alongside the Home Army. By early October, the uprising has been crushed. Warsaw is left in ruins. More than 180,000 are killed, including civilians massacred by the Germans. Others are deported to concentration and forced labor camps. This uprising is the largest act of resistance against German occupation in Europe.
August 2, 1944: Murder of Romani Prisoners at Auschwitz
At Auschwitz-Birkenau, SS camp authorities murder the last Romani prisoners—about 4,200—of the Zigeunerlager in a gas chamber. Thousands of other Roma and Sinti imprisoned at Auschwitz had already died of typhus.
August 4, 1944: Anne Frank and Her Family Are Discovered in Hiding
German authorities and their Dutch collaborators discover Anne Frank and her family’s hiding place in Amsterdam. Anne and her family are arrested, imprisoned, and sent to the Westerbork transit camp. On September 3, they are deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center, where they arrive on September 5. This was the last transport from Westerbork to Auschwitz.
August 5, 1944: Refugees Arrive at Fort Ontario in Oswego, New York
On August 5, 1944, 982 refugees, most of whom are Jewish, arrive at the newly opened Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter. The camp had previously been a military base and is surrounded by barbed wire.
August 6, 1944: SS Evacuation of Kaiserwald Concentration Camp in Occupied Riga Begins by Sea
As Soviet forces advance, SS authorities transport thousands of Jewish prisoners out of the Kaiserwald concentration camp. They are sent by ship from Riga to other camps.
August 6, 1944: Transports of Jews from Plaszow Camp to Auschwitz
As the Soviets drive the Germans out of occupied Poland, SS authorities in German-occupied Kraków begin to evacuate the Plaszow concentration camp. On August 6, 1944, SS authorities transport 7,500 Jewish prisoners to Auschwitz. Over the next several months, the SS continues to evacuate prisoners from Plaszow to other camps.
August 9, 1944: First Transports of Jews from the Łódź Ghetto Arrive at Auschwitz
In August–September 1944, German authorities deport about 67,000 Jews to Auschwitz-Birkenau from the Łódź ghetto. About two thirds are murdered in the gas chambers upon arrival. The first transport from Łódź arrives at Auschwitz on August 9.
August 23, 1944: Romania Switches Sides in the War
Following the overthrow of dictator Marshal Ion Antonescu, Romania switches sides in World War II. Previously, Romania had been part of the Axis alliance with Nazi Germany. As of August 23, Romania joins the Allies, and Romanian troops fight alongside Soviet troops for the remainder of the war.
August 25, 1944: Allied Forces Liberate Paris
In August 1944, Allied troops liberate Paris, France, after more than four years of German occupation. On August 25, the German forces in the city surrender. Parisians pour into the streets to greet the Allied soldiers, cheering and waving flags.
August 29, 1944: Germany Invades Slovakia and Slovak Uprising Begins
German troops invade Slovakia, an ally and client state. In response, Slovak resistance groups launch a revolt known as the Slovak National Uprising (Slovenské národné povstanie or SNP). The goal of the revolt is to drive out the Germans, overthrow the Slovakian government led by Jozef Tiso, and join with the Allies. They also seek to reconstitute a Czechoslovak state. By October, the uprising is brutally repressed.
September 1, 1944: SS Evacuation of Prisoners from Natzweiler-Struthof Concentration Camp in Occupied France Begins
As Allied forces advance, Nazi German authorities evacuate prisoners from the Natzweiler-Struthof main camp in German-occupied France. Thousands of prisoners are sent to the Dachau concentration camp. The SS continues to administer Natzweiler-Struthof’s subcamps from a new location further from the front lines.
September 1, 1944: Deportations of Slovak Jews to Auschwitz Resume
Following the German invasion of Slovakia, deportations of Slovak Jews to Auschwitz resume. The first transport arrives at Auschwitz from Čadca on September 1, 1944. Subsequent deportations follow in September, October, and early November.
September 3–4, 1944: Liberation of the Mechelen Camp in Belgium
As the Allies liberate Belgium from Nazi control, German forces retreat. On the night of September 3–4, German authorities abandon the Mechelen (Malines) transit camp. They leave behind hundreds of mostly Jewish prisoners.
September 5–6, 1944: SS Transfers Prisoners from Herzogenbusch (Vught) Concentration Camp in the Netherlands
As Allied forces battle their way through western Europe, the SS evacuates prisoners from the Herzogenbusch (Vught) concentration camp in the German-occupied Netherlands. They transfer thousands of men to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and hundreds of women to Ravensbrück. Among them are Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie. The SS transfers the Herzogenbusch facility to the German military. Allied forces arrive on October 26, 1944.
September 1944: Nazi Ally Bulgaria Leaves the Axis Alliance and Surrenders to the Soviet Union
Bulgaria leaves the Axis and surrenders to the Soviet Union. The Bulgarian Communist-led Fatherland Front seizes power in a coup from the pro-Axis Bulgarian government. It then declares war on Nazi Germany.
September 19, 1944: Massacre at the Klooga Subcamp in Occupied Estonia
SS units shoot prisoners (most of whom are Jews) at Klooga, a subcamp of the Vaivara concentration camp in German-occupied Estonia. This massacre occurs during the final evacuation of the Vaivara camp complex. Similar massacres occur around this same time at other subcamps. Soviet forces arrive a few days later.
September 19, 1944: Finland Signs an Armistice with the Soviet Union and Great Britain
Finland signs an armistice with the Soviet Union and Great Britain. While Finland was not formally a member of the Axis alliance, the Finns had entered the Nazi-led war against the Soviet Union in 1941.
September 28, 1944: Final Wave of Deportations of Jews from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz Begins
Beginning on September 28, 1944, the SS deports approximately 18,000 Jews from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz in a series of 11 transports. Among the deportees is Dr. Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist from Vienna. Frankl survives and writes a memoir, published in German in 1946 and in English in 1959 as Man’s Search for Meaning. The last transport to Auschwitz leaves Theresienstadt on October 28 and arrives at Auschwitz on October 30.
October 7, 1944: The Sonderkommando Revolt at Crematorium IV
A Jewish Sonderkommando (literally, “special commando”) prisoner attacks an SS guard during an ad hoc assembly of prisoners at Crematorium IV in Auschwitz-Birkenau. This triggers a revolt among other Jewish prisoners assigned to the Sonderkommando. They set fire to Crematorium IV. Some attempt to flee. The SS suppresses the revolt. During the uprising, about 450 Sonderkommando prisoners die. In Auschwitz, the Sonderkommando are units made up of forced laborers. Their job is to remove bodies from the gas chambers and operate the crematoria.
October 15–16, 1944: Fascist Arrow Cross Coup in Hungary
The Arrow Cross takes over the Hungarian government, ousting Hungarian leader Horthy. The Arrow Cross Party (Nyilaskeresztes Párt) is a fascist and radically antisemitic political party in Hungary. Under Arrow Cross leadership, Hungary continues to fight against the Soviets as an ally of Nazi Germany. Following the coup, Arrow Cross militias conduct a reign of terror against the Jews of Budapest.
October 22, 1944: First Prisoners Arrive at Oskar Schindler’s Brünnlitz Subcamp
The first prisoners arrive at the Brünnlitz subcamp of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp. Brünnlitz is a factory camp affiliated with businessman Oskar Schindler. In 1944, Schindler relocates the factory from German-occupied Kraków to Brünnlitz. He brings about 1,000 Jewish prisoners with him. From then until the camp’s liberation in May 1945, Schindler devotes himself to saving its Jewish prisoners.
October 28, 1944: Mittelbau (Dora) Becomes a Concentration Camp
The SS designates the Mittelbau (Dora) camp as an autonomous concentration camp. The SS had originally established Mittelbau in 1943, as a subcamp of Buchenwald. At Mittelbau, prisoners are forced to work underground in grueling conditions to support the German armament industry. The Nazi German regime had moved some armaments production underground to avoid Allied air raids. Mittelbau is the last major concentration camp established by the Nazi regime.
October–November 1944: The Last Gassing at Auschwitz Takes Place
The last mass gassing at Auschwitz-Birkenau takes place in October–November 1944. By this time, Nazi authorities have murdered hundreds of thousands of Jews in the gas chambers of the Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center.
November 2, 1944: Soviets Begin an Attack on Budapest
The Soviets begin their attack on Budapest. In the winter of 1944–1945, the Soviets encircle Budapest and lay siege to the city. German and Hungarian forces fight fiercely to defend the capital. During this time, Arrow Cross militias continue to murder and assault Jews.
November 6, 1944: Hungarian Government Deports Jews West, Mostly on Foot
The Hungarian government begins deporting tens of thousands of Jews from Budapest about 100 miles west to Hegyeshalom (a village along the Austria-Hungary border). Most are deported on foot. Many Jews die or are shot along the way. Jews who survive the trip are handed over to the Germans, supposedly on loan. The Germans require them to perform forced labor under deadly and grueling conditions. Diplomats (including Raoul Wallenberg and Carl Lutz), Jewish organizations, and ordinary Hungarians intervene in the deportations. They provide aid or save people when possible.
November 7, 1944: Execution of Hannah Szenes in Budapest
Hungarian authorities execute Hannah Szenes, a 23-year-old Jewish woman originally from Hungary. Szenes had immigrated to British-controlled Mandatory Palestine in 1939. In 1944, she returns to Europe as a paratrooper under the authority of British forces. She lands in Yugoslavia in March 1944 and later crosses into Hungary, where she is captured with a radio transmitter. Prior to her execution, she is held and tortured for nearly five months.
November 26, 1944: Himmler Orders the Destruction of the Crematoria Complexes at Auschwitz
As Soviet forces drive the Germans back and get closer to Auschwitz, SS chief Heinrich Himmler orders the destruction of the crematoria complexes at Auschwitz-Birkenau. This is an attempt to hide the evidence of mass murder at the killing center.
November 26, 1944: The War Refugee Board Releases Text of the Auschwitz Protocols
In November 1944, the War Refugee Board publishes the full text of a report entitled The German Extermination Camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau. The report is commonly called the “Auschwitz Report” or the “Auschwitz Protocols.” It includes accounts written by multiple Auschwitz escapees, including Vrba and Wetzler. On November 26, newspapers across the United States publish articles on the report.
December 3, 1944: The Washington Post Uses the Term “Genocide”
In response to the release of the “Auschwitz Protocols,” the Washington Post publishes an editorial entitled “Genocide.” The newspaper explains that this is a new word. It was coined by Polish Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin, a refugee from Nazi persecution living in the United States. In light of the information contained in the Protocols, the Post says that it is vital to “secure international agreement now on the outlawing of genocide” so that perpetrators of the crime can be brought to justice.
December 10, 1944: Jews in Budapest Are Imprisoned in a Ghetto
In late November–early December 1944, Hungarian authorities order the imprisonment of tens of thousands of Jews in a ghetto in Budapest. A decree announcing the ghetto is enacted on November 29. The ghetto is officially sealed off from the city on December 10. In total, approximately 70,000 Jews are forced into the Budapest ghetto, in appalling conditions. Tens of thousands of other Jews remain in the city in hiding or under the protection of neutral powers.
December 11, 1944: Authorities Dismantle the Hartheim T4 Killing Center
German authorities force prisoners from the Mauthausen concentration camp to dismantle the gas chamber and other parts of the Hartheim killing facility. Hartheim was part of the Euthanasia Program, or “Operation T4” (Aktion T4). The Germans murdered people with disabilities, concentration camp prisoners, and others at Hartheim. The last gassing at Hartheim likely takes place in November 1944.
December 16, 1944: Battle of the Bulge Begins
The German military launches a last-ditch counteroffensive against the Allied armies in western Europe. Adolf Hitler hopes that the German counterattack will split the Allied armies, allowing his troops to encircle and destroy them. Yet by early January 1945, the German military effort has failed, and the Allied armies resume racing towards Berlin. The Battle of the Bulge remains the largest engagement ever fought by the US Army.
Footnotes
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Footnote reference1.
Exec. Order No. 9417, 9 Fed. Reg. 925 (Jan. 22, 1944).
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Footnote reference2.
“Statement by President Roosevelt, March 24, 1944,” Office of the Historian, US Department of State, accessed August 12, 2026, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1944v01/d771.
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Footnote reference3.
“Genocide,” Washington Post, December 3, 1944.
Critical Thinking Questions
How do German actions against the Jews in 1944 illustrate the systematic and bureaucratic nature of the assault on the Jews of Europe?
Investigate resistance efforts in killing centers and ghettos during 1944. What obstacles did fighters face?