Were nazi death camps found by americans or russians

1. Geography decided who found which camps

The front lines of late 1944 and early 1945 determined liberators: Soviet forces advancing from the east reached camps inside occupied Poland and eastern Germany (Majdanek in July 1944; Auschwitz on 27 January 1945), whereas Western Allied armies moving from the west and south encountered camps deeper in Germany and Austria later in April–May 1945 ^{[1] [2] [6] [3]}.

2. Soviet liberation of the largest killing centers

The Red Army was the first to reach some of the largest killing centers. Majdanek was encountered in July 1944 and Auschwitz was entered by Soviet forces on 27 January 1945 — dates cited repeatedly in contemporary and later accounts and commemorations ^{[1] [2] [4] [7]}.

3. American and Western Allied discoveries in central and western Germany

U.S. armies discovered and publicized camps inside Germany itself: Ohrdruf (a Buchenwald subcamp) was the first Nazi camp visited by American combat troops in early April 1945 and its shocking conditions prompted Allied leaders to lift censorship and document the evidence; U.S. troops subsequently found and liberated camps including Buchenwald, Dachau, Dora-Mittelbau, Mauthausen and others ^{[3] [5] [8] [9]}.

4. Liberation was a staggered, multinational process

Histories stress that “liberation” was not a single event but a series of encounters. From July 1944 to May 1945, Soviet units liberated numerous camps east of the Oder River while Western Allies liberated camps in April–May 1945 in the west; British forces also liberated camps such as Bergen-Belsen ^{[6] [7] [10]}.

5. Public awareness and documentation varied by liberator

Different armies documented what they found in different ways and at different times. Soviet and Polish investigators photographed and investigated Majdanek and Auschwitz; U.S. army photographers produced films and documentary records at camps they entered, such as Struthof and others; media access and censorship policies initially limited wider dissemination until Allied leadership lifted restrictions after early April 1945 ^{[11] [5] [12]}.

6. Misconceptions and contested emphases

Some modern debates focus on who “should” be credited, often shaped by national narratives: for example, scholarship notes disputes over emphasis on Russian versus Ukrainian roles within Red Army formations and political uses of liberation memory ^[13]. Available sources do not mention a single nation “discovering” all camps; instead they show multiple liberators depending on location ^{[13] [6]}.

7. Why the question matters today

Who liberated which camp affects commemoration, national memory, and politics. UN and museum anniversaries emphasize specific dates (Auschwitz liberation on 27 January is the basis for Holocaust Remembrance Day) because those moments have become focal points for education and remembrance ^{[14] [2]}. At the same time, archival collections in U.S. institutions preserve American records from liberations they conducted ^[8].

8. Bottom line for your original question

Neither “Americans” nor “Russians” alone can claim to have found all Nazi death camps: Soviet forces were first at many eastern camps (e.g., Majdanek, Auschwitz) while American and other Western Allied forces liberated numerous camps in central and western Germany (e.g., Ohrdruf, Buchenwald, Dachau) — liberation was a multinational, front-dependent process ^{[1] [2] [3] [9]}.

Limitations: this summary draws only on the supplied reporting and institutional pieces; available sources do not list every camp or every unit involved, so consult specialized histories or archives for exhaustive camp-by-camp liberation lists ^{[15] [8]}.