From January 1945, hundreds of thousands of German civilians, laden with their most essential possessions, struggled westward, trying to escape the invading Soviet army. A member of the Hitler Youth movement saw the columns of refugees. He recalled: "I remember a young woman carrying a baby in her arms; the child was dead - frozen stiff. She was beside herself with grief, but what could we boys do? We simply sent her on her way."
And the refugees were harassed by Soviet bombers and by fighters that strafed them from the air. A pilot later recalled the attacks: "The target was obvious - tens of thousands of Germans making their way along narrow roads. We could hardly miss. It now seems unimaginable how many people we sent to their deaths with our bombs and grenades."
一九四五年一月開始，數以十萬計德國人攜着他們最重要的物品，奮力西逃，逃避入侵的蘇聯軍隊。希特勒少年團一名成員目睹那一群群難民，回憶說：「我記得有個少婦抱着嬰兒，而那嬰兒已經死去─凍僵了。她悲痛欲絕，但我們能做些什麼？我們只能着她繼續走。」
而難民還遭蘇聯轟炸機和戰鬥機襲擊。戰鬥機低飛向他們掃射。一個飛行員後來憶述他們的殺戮：「目標十分清楚：數以萬計德國人在狹窄的路上前行。我們幾乎不可能失手。今天，真難想像當年我們用炸彈和手榴彈奪去了多少人性命。」