Majdanek was the Nazi concentration camp liberated by Soviet forces on 23 July 1944, becoming the first major camp liberated by the Allies.
The camp stood on the outskirts of Lublin in German-occupied Poland and was officially called Konzentrationslager Lublin. Soviet troops captured Lublin unexpectedly, leaving little time for the SS to destroy evidence. Much of the camp remained intact, including barracks, crematoria, and gas chambers.
Majdanek was established in October 1941 and held prisoners from many countries. Jews formed a large part of its prisoner population, but the camp also imprisoned Polish political prisoners, Soviet prisoners of war, and others persecuted by Nazi Germany. Thousands of prisoners died through murder, starvation, disease, forced labor, and executions.
Majdanek is sometimes confused with Auschwitz-Birkenau because both were located in occupied Poland and both had gas chambers. Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated later, on 27 January 1945. The surviving physical evidence at Majdanek helped document Nazi crimes soon after liberation.