In fact the population of Memel east of the Neman River was evacuated to the western parts of East Prussia in late summer 1944 . On October 7 , 1944 that area was the only part of East Prussia completely evacuated . On October 16 , 1944 the Red Army reached German territory for the first time in World War II in the southern part of East Prussia near Gumbinnen , encountering German civilians and committing the Nemmersdorf massacre . After the Wehrmacht managed to reconquer large parts of the territory , the East Prussian Gauleiter Erich Koch partially conceded the requests of the Wehrmacht and gave permission to evacuate a small strip of 30 km directly behind the front line . Civilians from that area were sent to the northern parts of East Prussia
Nemmersdorf massacre
Nemmersdorf massacre
German evacuation from Central and Eastern Europe