For the Germans , the organized evacuation of civilians before the advancing Red Army was delayed by the Nazi government , so as not to demoralize the troops , who were by now fighting in their own country . Nazi propaganda — originally meant to stiffen civil resistance by describing in gory and embellished detail Red Army atrocities such as the Nemmersdorf massacre — often backfired and created panic . Whenever possible , as soon as the Wehrmacht retreated , local civilians began to flee westward on their own initiative
Nemmersdorf massacre
Nemmersdorf massacre
Soviet war crimes