The article recounts the harrowing events of the Gardelegen massacre in April 1945 during World War II.On April 13, SS troops and local auxiliaries herded over 1,000 slave laborers and concentration camp prisoners into a barn near Gardelegen.The captives were forced to endure a brutal death march from camps like Mittelbau-Dora and Hannover-Stöcken before being lined up inside the barn.Guards doused the floor with gasoline-soaked straw and used phosphorus grenades to ignite the structure, killing most of the prisoners.Those who tried to escape through doors or walls were machine-gunned by guards outside.The U.S.Army arrived less than 24 hours later, discovering the perpetrators in the act of burning bodies to cover up evidence.Only 11-20 survivors, including Bonde Gaza, were found alive.The military then ordered local citizens to exhume remains and give victims proper burials.

The article highlights the atrocities committed by Nazi forces and the resilience of survivors like Gaza, who shared his escape story with American liberators.