 The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Weimar in April 1945, and the city surrendered to the US 80th Infantry Division on 12 April 1945.The residents of Weimar were ordered to walk through Buchenwald, to see what had been happening so close to the city, as documented in Billy Wilder's film "Death Mills".The city ended up in the Soviet zone of occupation, so US troops were soon replaced by Soviet forces.