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Bill Millin
Branko Lustig. As a 12/13 year old, the future producer of Steven Spielberg’s movie ‘Schindler’s List’, was in Bergen-Belsen and on the brink of dying when he all of a sudden heard a sound he thought might have been produced by angels. It was in fact British Army pipers playing as the camp was liberated. 7,514 total views
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Mady Gerrard – Survivor
On 15th April 1945, British Soldiers entered the gates of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp for the first time. They found more than 50,000 prisoners, suffering from disease, starvation, neglect and torture – as well as the bodies of thousands who had already died. Immediately, a major relief effort began, with British troops trying to save as many lives as possible, but even after liberation, 14,000 more people would die. Today, 75 years on, SSAFA remembers the actions of the British soldiers, who did what they could to rescue and revive the thousands of people on the verge of death, from the worst terror imaginable. The first men to enter the camp…
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Leslie Hardman
Reverend Leslie Henry Hardman MBE HCF (18 February 1913 – 7 October 2008) was an Orthodox Rabbi and the first Jewish British Army chaplain to enter Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, an experience “that made him a public figure, both within his community and outside it”. 8,135 total views
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Report on Belsen Camp by Lt. Col. Taylor
REPORT ON BELSEN CAMP by Lt-Col. R.I.G. TAYLOR, DSO, MC. Appendix ‘A’ attached is a short account of the condition of the camp as known before the entry on 15 April. Appendix ‘B’ is a copy of the agreement concluded between representatives of the Allied and German Armies on 12 April 1945. PART I. On 13 April I received written instructions from B.G.S., 8 Corps that I was to assume control of the area as given in the agreement, that I was to command all enemy troops remaining in the area, and “in principle British troops were to be employed to give authority of enemy forces vis a…
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British Royal Engineer (59 Plant Troop)
Picture of Royal Engineers Dozer team (59 M.E) that arrived from Maxhafen on or around 25th/26th April 1945. 6,645 total views
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Squadron Leader Douglas Haig Palmer RNZAF
I am responding to your request for information about the liberation of the Bergen Belsen camp in May 1945. 7,025 total views
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Ted Smith – Canadian Pilot
Ted Smith, 92, was a Canadian pilot during the Second World War who saw frequent combat. But it is a spring day in April 1945 that’s seared into his memory. He arrived at Bergen-Belsen, the Nazi concentration camp, two days after it was liberated. Here is his description of the horrific scene he encountered. 6,388 total views
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Mervyn Gonin – 11th Light Field Ambulance
This month marks the 70th anniversary of Belsen’s liberation and reporter James Marston went to find out more about a Suffolk man who was on the scene. 7,713 total views
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Sir James Gowans (1924-2020)
St Catherine’s College is saddened to share the news that Sir James Gowans, Honorary and Founding Fellow, passed away on 1st April, 2020 aged 95. 7,063 total views
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Harold Tetlow, Padre
The first religious service held at Belsen took place using an alter under canvas with a rough wooden cross on top. 7,099 total views
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