27 January: Auschwitz is liberated by Soviet troops

The largest German Nazi-operated concentration and extermination camp is located in Auschwitz (today Oświęcim). From 1940, the camp is run by the Schutzstaffel or SS. In the camp, millions of people are tortured and exploited in indescribable conditions. The actual number of deaths caused by malnutrition, illness and gas is unknown, but it is assumed around 1.5 million victims died there. In Germany, the date of the camps liberation is a day of remembrance.