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.
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Soon after liberation, a camp survivor receives medical care. Bergen-Belsen, Germany, after April 15, 1945.
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Soon after liberation, British medical officers begin disinfection of camp survivors. Bergen-Belsen, Germany, May 1945.
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Soon after liberation, camp survivors bathe in outdoor showers set up by the British. Bergen-Belsen, Germany, after April 15, 1945.
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A mass grave at Bergen-Belsen soon after the liberation of the camp. Bergen-Belsen, Germany, May 1945.
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Soon after liberation, camp survivors wait for rations of potato soup. Bergen-Belsen, Germany, April 28, 1945.
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Soon after liberation, camp survivors walk amidst dead bodies. Bergen-Belsen, Germany, after April 15, 1945.
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Soon after liberation, women camp survivors prepare food near piles of dead bodies. Bergen-Belsen, Germany, after April 15, 1945.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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