Volary - Death March Memorial

The death march, later referred to as Volarský, left on April 13, 1945, from one of the branches of the German Flossenbürg concentration camp. The female prisoners were driven by German guards towards Aš, Františkovy lázně and Svatava, where they rested for a while, then continued to Šumava, where they were caught by the end of the war.

Those women who survived the hardships of the German concentration camp were forced to make a grueling march. Women died on the way by the dozens. In order not to die of hunger, they fed on dry grass. The nights were freezing and therefore some froze. Those who could not go further were immediately shot by the Germans.
A total of 278 women did not survive this march, of which 95 are buried in this cemetery. The march lasted 29 days and the women traveled several hundred kilometers during it. Only 52 female prisoners survived. Their average weight after liberation was only 37 kilograms.

Those who were not murdered or died of exhaustion arrived at Volar on May 4, 1945, where the end of the war overtook them. The survivors were taken to a local infirmary, where US Army medics began to care for them. Unfortunately, despite all the care, many impoverished women died here.
The surviving women identified the remains of the victims. On May 11, 1945, a joint funeral was organized in Volary for the victims who were brought from the surrounding area. The American commander of the town ordered the local Germans to walk past the coffins of the impoverished women

A 2.6 meter high metal sculpture depicting the torso of a woman is erected on the hill next to the monument. It is a work of sculptor Vojtěch Pařík created in 1975.