During the Soviet assault , the Frische Nehrung spit became the last means of escape to the west . However , civilians who tried to escape along the spit were often intercepted and killed by Soviet tanks and patrols . Two thousand civilians left Königsberg every day and tried to reach the already crowded town of Pillau . The final Soviet assault on Königsberg started on 2 April with a heavy bombardment of the city . The land route to Pillau was once again severed and those civilians who were still in the city died by the thousands . Eventually , the Nazi garrison surrendered on 9 April , and as Beevor wrote , " the rape of women and girls went unchecked in the ruined city " The widely publicized killings and rapes in places like Nemmersdorf by the Soviets led to a severe degree of fear in the entire German population of East Prussia . Those that could not escape the advancing Soviets were left to their fate . Wealthy civilians of East Prussia were often shot by Soviet soldiers , their goods stolen , and their houses set on fire . Wrote Zakhar Agranenko , a playwright serving as an officer of marine infantry in East Prussia : " Red Army soldiers do n't believe in ' individual liaisons ' with German women . Nine , ten , twelve men at a time – they rape them on a collective basis . " Even Russian women liberated from forced labor camps were raped by Soviet soldiers . The rear-guard units of the advancing Soviet armies were responsible for a large proportion of the crimes committed by Red Army personnel . Soviet Officers like Lev Kopelev , who tried to prevent crimes , were accused of pity for the enemy and became Gulag prisoners
Nemmersdorf
Nemmersdorf massacre
Evacuation of East Prussia