I believe they were making some kind of rockets nearby and men were sent to this camp basically to die. The US bombed the facility because of the large hangars, thinking the rockets were there and not knowing there were POWs and other prisoners in the camp. When they finally rolled in there were thousands of corpses. My understanding is that the Army went into the town and forced the locals to help bury the dead. My Grandpa died when I was a kid so I don't know his version of the story, and I don't think he ever told it anyway.