Search results
Bergen-Belsen ( pronounced [ˈbɛʁɡn̩ˌbɛlsn̩] ), or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, [1] in 1943, parts of it became a concentration camp.
Aug 22, 2023 · Bergen-Belsen began as a camp for Allied prisoners of war. After it was turned over to the SS, it became a Nazi concentration camp in 1943. Beginning in fall 1944, the SS deported to Bergen-Belsen large numbers of prisoners evacuated from Nazi camps further east.
Bergen-Belsen, Nazi German concentration camp near the villages of Bergen and Belsen, about 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Celle, Germany. It was established in 1943 on part of the site of a prisoner-of-war camp and was originally intended as a detention camp for Jews who were to be exchanged for.
British forces liberated Bergen-Belsen on 15 April 1945. Thousands of bodies lay unburied around the camp and some 60,000 starving and mortally ill people were packed together without food, water or basic sanitation.
On 12 April 1945, the Nazis agreed to surrender the Bergen-Belsen camp. On 15 April 1945, the British troops officially occupied and liberated the camp. The huge influxes of prisoners following the death marches of early 1945 meant that conditions within the camp were extremely inhumane.
On April 15, 1945, the 11 th Armoured Division of the British army entered the Bergen-Belsen camp complex; this was the first concentration camp liberated by British forces, who were unprepared for what they found. British soldiers arriving were unprepared for the devastating conditions of the camp.
The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was part of the official concentration camp system from the time it was established in April 1943. Today, many consider it the embodiment of Nazi crimes. However, Bergen-Belsen differed from all other Nazi concentration camps in several key aspects.
