The Brno death march (German: Brünner Todesmarsch) is traditional German term for the forced expulsion of the German inhabitants of Brno (German: Brünn) after World War II. The march began late on the night of 30 May 1945 when the ethnic German minority in Brno, was expelled to nearby Austria. Only about half of expellees actually crosed the border. Thousands of people were held in the provisional camps in the border area. While some Germans were later allowed to return to Brno, hundreds of others fell victim to diseases and malnutrition in the following weeks. The number of fatalities caused by the march and imprisonment is disputed as it became part of propaganda: the estimates range between 500 and 8,000.