On this day 80 years ago, at approximately 8AM, Schwarzenfeld’s train station is a scene of horrors.
In the gray morning hours, the train that departed from Flossenbürg on April 16 limps into Schwarzenfeld’s station. Its passengers have weathered a harrowing trip. The convoy sustained its first attack by American low-fliers outside the city of Floss. A second attack occurred on route between Weiden and Pfremid. A third attack—and the most violent—is moments away. (See the map for historical details on the route taken by this convoy, and click for a larger version.)
SS officers disembark and talk to the train station manager. To their dismay, they discover that they are stranded. Schwandorf’s decimation prevents the convoy from traveling further south.
As they debate what to do next, the roar of a plane engine snares their attention. Out of the mad blue, an American low-flier dives from the clouds and opens fire. Once again, their convoy has been mistaken as a military transport.
Mark Stern numbers among the prisoners on the train. In his memoirs, he recounts what happens next:
“Our German guards were determined to follow the evacuation orders in spite of the approaching American spearhead… they took us during the night to Schwarzenfeld, where we were attacked by another group of American airplanes. This time, the SS opened the doors of the boxcars before they scattered into the fields. The airplanes were shooting at the train and, tragically, some of their bullets killed the prisoners…
When we saw that the locomotive had been hit and the train was immobilized, we ran out into the field to avoid the bullets. Some prisoners took a chance this time and ran into the forest. I did not think I could survive by myself in the German forests which surrounded us, but I prayed that the escapees would make it to freedom… This barrage of bullets was exactly what we had hoped for during our long years of imprisonment. Although we lost some of our fellow inmates in this attack, we were excited by the sight of the American insignias on the planes and felt new hope that this war might finally end.”
—Mark Stern, Shema: Secret of My Survival, Chapter IV: Liberation 1945, p. 59-60
In the aftermath of this attack the SS realize that they have no choice but to drive their charges on foot. First, they execute prisoners who attempted escape. Then in a display of mind-numbing brutality, they shoot men too wounded to walk. After the bloodbath, they drive remaining able-bodied prisoners onward.
It’s worth recognizing that Mark Stern and his ill-fated prisoner convoy is a small part of a much larger event—the Flossenbürg Death March. On the frigid spring morning of April 16, Mark was one of approximately 16,000 Jewish inmates who boarded trains bound for Dachau. According to records from the International Tracing Service, these convoys scattered throughout the Bavarian countryside, and all of them dissolved into nightmare marches that left roads littered with dead. Prisoners were frequently shot for falling behind, or attempting escape.
For Mark, the death march would last three more grueling days. In the early hours of April 23, 1945, the U.S. Eleventh Armored Division finally liberated him and his fellow survivors. By that point, over half of the Jews in the convoy had died. Their SS captors were swiftly apprehended as prisoners of war, and in 1947 they were brought to justice by a U.S. military tribunal.
On April 19, 1945, the Flossenbürg Death March left Schwarzenfeld’s Nazi administrators with a grim dilemma: the remnants of a massacre lay scattered throughout the train station yard, and U.S. forces would arrive within days. The mayor and his subordinates feared that if the Americans discovered 140 dead Jewish prisoners lying at the station, they would retaliate against the town, or investigate its leaders for suspected war crimes.
Their solution opens the darkest chapter of Schwarzenfeld’s history.
Useful reminders
This post is part of a month-long series reflecting upon historical events that contributed to my debut historical fiction novel, The Sower of Black Field. Visit the “Latest News” area on my website for a recap »
The Sower of Black Field is available in paperback, eBook / Kindle, and audiobook on Amazon. Get your copy »
This post includes an excerpt from Mark Stern’s memoirs, Shema: Secret of My Survival. Sadly, the memoir is out of print, but contact me if you have an interest in reading it. You can find details about Stern’s memoir on Google Books »
If you’d like to learn more about Flossenbürg and the death march, there are many sources to choose from. Here are a few I recommend:
Wikipedia – Flossenbürg concentration camp
