The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was liberated by British forces on April 15, 1945. Approximately 50,000 people died at Bergen-Belsen during the camp's existence and in the three months following liberation. When liberating troops entered the camp, they witnessed evidence of Nazi atrocities and the horrific conditions that prisoners had faced.
An survivor of the Bergen-Belsen camp, after liberation. Bergen-Belsen, Germany, after April 15, 1945.
Item View![Soon after liberation, a camp survivor receives medical care. [LCID: 46362]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/b8ea4679-6807-4adb-9732-3098663ce1ae.jpg "Soon after liberation, a camp survivor receives medical care. [LCID: 46362]")
Soon after liberation, a camp survivor receives medical care. Bergen-Belsen, Germany, after April 15, 1945.
Item View![Soon after liberation, British medical officers begin disinfection of camp survivors. [LCID: 75116]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/bd7e4bd0-28d7-4c10-b979-ee07af23427c.jpg "Soon after liberation, British medical officers begin disinfection of camp survivors. [LCID: 75116]")
Soon after liberation, British medical officers begin disinfection of camp survivors. Bergen-Belsen, Germany, May 1945.
Item View![Soon after liberation, camp survivors bathe in outdoor showers set up by the British. [LCID: 45050]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/a7c18d4a-3ff2-4885-8cf7-be45438136b4.jpg "Soon after liberation, camp survivors bathe in outdoor showers set up by the British. [LCID: 45050]")
Soon after liberation, camp survivors bathe in outdoor showers set up by the British. Bergen-Belsen, Germany, after April 15, 1945.
Item View![A mass grave soon after camp liberation. Bergen-Belsen, Germany, May 1945. [LCID: 32072]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/28c0796e-f3b3-4d36-a337-fb7b3b893a08.jpg "A mass grave soon after camp liberation. Bergen-Belsen, Germany, May 1945. [LCID: 32072]")
A mass grave at Bergen-Belsen soon after the liberation of the camp. Bergen-Belsen, Germany, May 1945.
Item View![Soon after liberation, camp survivors await their ration of potato soup. [LCID: 77197]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/0de1e3b6-07b0-4bc4-80e5-e8cfe82ebe35.jpg "Soon after liberation, camp survivors await their ration of potato soup. [LCID: 77197]")
Soon after liberation, camp survivors wait for rations of potato soup. Bergen-Belsen, Germany, April 28, 1945.
Item View![Soon after liberation, camp survivors walk amidst dead bodies. [LCID: 13053]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/1ce7983b-1a70-4f75-ad95-e3ecb711a0ff.jpg "Soon after liberation, camp survivors walk amidst dead bodies. [LCID: 13053]")
Soon after liberation, camp survivors walk amidst dead bodies. Bergen-Belsen, Germany, after April 15, 1945.
Item View![Soon after liberation, women camp survivors prepare food near piles of dead bodies. [LCID: 32080]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/ab5b9cdd-db53-43cb-9d54-618f2558fe77.jpg "Soon after liberation, women camp survivors prepare food near piles of dead bodies. [LCID: 32080]")
Soon after liberation, women camp survivors prepare food near piles of dead bodies. Bergen-Belsen, Germany, after April 15, 1945.
Item View![After liberation of the Bergen-Belsen camp, British soldiers forced German mayors from nearby towns to view mass graves. [LCID: 74938]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/6b7002a2-e793-48ed-8c30-46f5253be545.jpg "After liberation of the Bergen-Belsen camp, British soldiers forced German mayors from nearby towns to view mass graves. [LCID: 74938]")
After liberation of the Bergen-Belsen camp, British soldiers forced German mayors from nearby towns to view mass graves. Bergen-Belsen, Germany, after April 15, 1945.
Item View![The Bergen-Belsen former concentration camp is burned to the ground by British soldiers to prevent the spread of typhus. [LCID: 75137]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/71de091d-6cb0-4c76-bb3c-fdcd6e3057a1.jpg "The Bergen-Belsen former concentration camp is burned to the ground by British soldiers to prevent the spread of typhus. [LCID: 75137]")
Buildings of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp are burned to the ground by British soldiers to prevent the spread of typhus. Germany, May 21, 1945.
Item View![The Bergen-Belsen former concentration camp is burned to the ground to halt the spread of typhus. [LCID: 75136]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/9fae910e-ab42-489c-b53d-7cd864b61613.jpg "The Bergen-Belsen former concentration camp is burned to the ground to halt the spread of typhus. [LCID: 75136]")
Buildings of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is burned to the ground to halt the spread of typhus. Germany, May 21, 1945.
Item ViewAfter British soldiers liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany, they forced the remaining SS guards to help bury the dead. Here, survivors of the camp taunt their former tormentors, who prepare to bury victims in a mass grave.
Item View
We would like to thank Crown Family Philanthropies, Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation, the Claims Conference, EVZ, and BMF for supporting the ongoing work to create content and resources for the Holocaust Encyclopedia. View the list of donor acknowledgement.
