Territory of evil. Concentration camp Bergen-Belsen (Bergen-Belsen, Germany)

So we wandered in the rain, dad, mom and I, with bags and string bags filled with all sorts of things. The workers heading to their morning shift looked at us sympathetically. You could read on their faces that they wereThey would gladly help us, but they don’t dare because yellow stars on our jackets."/c/ "Refuge" (Anne Frank)

Any armed fighting- this is a terrible evil. World history knows many examples of cruelty towards civilians. Alexander the Great, Tamerlane, Julius Caesar, Napoleon... The list of cruel rulers and conquerors can be continued for a long time. But for the current generation, of course, the Second World War. Mainly because it was relatively recent by historical standards. And besides, many of our relatives made invaluable contributions to Great Victory, dying on the battlefields.

Today I will tell you about, perhaps, a more terrible evil than simple military operations. We will talk about the concentration camp in Bergen-Belsen. Why about him, and not about the much more famous Dachau, Buchenwald or Auschwitz? I will answer this question a little later. In the meantime, I’ll just say that it was in this camp that the most large number Russian soldiers. This happened at the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War...

The Bergen-Belsen camp, located 60 kilometers from the capital of Lower Saxony, Hanover, was created in 1940 for prisoners of war from Belgium and France. The small area of this hangout was not prepared for such a huge influx of people in the future. Already during the first summer months of 1941, more than 20 thousand Russian prisoners of war ended up here. Terrible conditions, unsanitary conditions and complete inaction of SS officers caused the death of 18 thousand Russian people during the first 5 months. by March 1942, according to official camp data, only 2,097 people remained alive.

In 1943, the purpose of the camp changed radically. Prisoners of war were no longer brought here. But they began to bring in Jews from the neighboring Belgian and Dutch districts. Initially, this camp did not seem too scary. There were no gas chambers at Belsen, and most of the prisoners were planned to be exchanged for German prisoners of war. But in the end, only 358 Jews were exchanged. Many of those who remained died from a terrible typhus epidemic.

2. You can easily get to the camp on your own from the city of Celle, which is located 50 kilometers from Hannover and which I already wrote about in my journal. Also nearby is the small town of Bergen and the village of Belsen. Geographically, there is no settlement with the name Bergen-Belsen on the map and never has existed

3. Camp territory. Don't look for barracks or any other Auschwitz-like buildings here. All 8 parts of the camp were burned in April 1945 to prevent the spread of typhus by British troops, who liberated the camp. Now there is a peaceful sky here and only somewhere nearby can be heard the dull sounds of shells exploding at a NATO training ground...

6. On the territory of the camp there are several large memorials (including those dedicated to our Russian soldiers), as well as monuments to the Jews who died here. Of course, the monuments are located in purely symbolic places, because... you probably understand that everyone is buried here in mass graves

9. I’ll tell you about how we got to the territory of this camp. This was not a pure coincidence or a geographical find. On the contrary - a purposeful trip. Not long ago I was able to read the world famous literary work"Refuge" written by Anne Frank. This girl, along with her sister, died here in Bergen-Belsen. And now many in the world associate this camp with the name of Anne Frank. Everything described refers to the Amsterdam part of Anna’s life, where for almost two years she, along with her family and 4 other Jews, hid from the Nazis. As a result, it was not possible to hold out until the end and the girls took a long journey through Westerborok, Auschwitz and half of Poland to Bergen-Belsen, where they died of typhus a few days before the liberation of the camp. The diary entries remained in that famous Amsterdam apartment (now a museum is organized there). After much persuasion from his friends, the notebooks and sheets of paper with his daughter’s text were then edited and published by Anne’s father Otto Frank

I have to work hard so as not to remain stupid, in order to achieve something and become a journalist. This is exactly what I want!I know I can write. I have several good stories and funny descriptions of life in the Vault, interesting excerpts from the diary. But am I really talented? That still needs to be proven.”. /c/ "Refuge" (Anne Frank)

11. Also on the territory of the camp, in addition to several memorials, there is an interesting museum and a “room of silence”, where it was not possible to take photographs for emotional reasons

12. Among the captives there were many homosexuals, gypsies and Jehovah's Witnesses

13. April 1945 - time of liberation of the camp by the British. By the way, inside the museum you can find a unique video that plays non-stop. It was filmed by the British in the first days of the liberation of the camp. They interviewed survivors, showed the condition of the barracks, etc.

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17. Now let's look at the museum. A lot of information is stored here. Without any difficulty you can obtain information about many prisoners of the camp. The Germans wrote down everything they needed on special forms, which included their last name, date of birth, place of birth, citizenship and future fate. Now it is stored in such name books

18. About some of them everything is described in great detail. These people are not the chosen ones. Most likely, it was simply the relatives of some of the prisoners who helped the museum fill the archive with information

19. You can use an electronic database

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22. Everything is told here about Tamurbek Davletshin in more detail than in any online biography. He never returned to his homeland; his way there, of course, was blocked

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24. Unlike more famous concentration camps, there are very few visitors here. The absence of people helps to penetrate the atmosphere of the place

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29. Some items have survived to this day

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33. Now outside the window here, thank God, times are peaceful...

Now I’m full of hope: finally we have really good news! Great news! The best! An attempt was made on Hitler's life - and not by Jewish communists or English capitalists, but by a German general, a count by birth and also still young. “God’s provision” saved the life of the Fuhrer, who, unfortunately, escaped with several scratches and burns. Several officers and generals from his entourage were killed or wounded. The main culprit was shot". /c/ "Refuge" (Anne Frank)

p.s. If any of you decide to visit Bergen-Belsen, you can find out the exact address, directions and work schedule on the official website of the former camp - http://bergen-belsen.stiftung-ng.de/. Administration owning English, will quickly answer all your questions and wishes. Help with archival data and searching for people is also possible.

Live in peace and harmony!

George Roger was the first photographer to enter the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp after its liberation in 1945.
The photographs he took told the world the truth about the death camps.

And for Roger, this shooting was a critical point in his worldview. After spending several hours in a concentration camp, he was horrified that all this time he was looking for favorable angles and building beautiful compositions.
These pictures will haunt him all his life, until his death he will see this concentration camp in his dreams. Roger became depressed. He decided for himself that he would never be able to work as a war correspondent again.
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Bergen-Belsen is less known than, say, Auschwitz or Buchenwald. If they write about it, it is most often because of Anne Frank, who was there for some time and then died after her liberation...
Bergen-Belsen is also infamous for the fact that it became the first concentration camp on German territory where Russian prisoners of war were taken.

Of course, “institutions” of this kind were under the jurisdiction of the SS and the order in them was truly monstrous: “When we passed through the gates of Bergen-Belsen, we found ourselves outside of life and time. We had nothing to focus on, nothing and no one to hold on to.”... “Whoever ended up here ended up in chaos, in nothingness.”- this is how the surviving prisoners of the camp remember.

And here is about the first day of liberation: " Before that, we were not allowed out of the barracks for several days. They were not allowed to eat or drink. People died one after another. The horror, confusion, and unbearable stench could, without exaggeration, drive you crazy. Finally, the doors of our barracks opened. Some people in military uniform They hastily pushed us out into the yard. What I saw there was even more terrible: stacks of corpses between the barracks, corpses filling the sewer pits to the top... Hills grew near the crematorium - places of hasty burials.”

Bergen-Belsen was liberated by the British Army on April 15, 1945. The soldiers discovered in the camp: 60,000 prisoners, many of whom were on the verge of death, and thousands of unburied bodies.

After the liberation, Bergen-Belsen became a camp for displaced persons, where people continued to die from disease, mainly typhus, and exhaustion. The camp existed until 1951.

This photograph became known to the whole world; thanks to the magazine, the boy was identified by his relatives.

Surviving prisoners are trying to find suitable clothes

Ukrainian prisoners are trying to find something worthwhile

People continued to die after liberation

Dying from typhus

Antityphoid treatment with dust

These are women, former prisoners

Queue for soup.
Very liquid food is the only thing the prisoners can digest for now.

Two French prisoners wearing boots taken from German guards

This girl's name is Anneliese Kohlmann. She joined the Nazi Party at age 19 and worked as a tram driver.
In November 1944, she was drafted into the SS troops and first worked in prisons, then as a camp guard.
After the camp was liberated by British soldiers, she changed into camp clothes, but was identified and arrested.
She was sentenced to two years on charges of ill-treatment of prisoners and sexual harassment of a lesbian nature.
Died of natural causes in West Germany on September 17, 1977.

Elisabeth Volkenrath, formerly worked as a hairdresser. She was drafted into the SS in 1942.
She underwent special training and worked as a chief guard in Auschwitz and Ravensbruck.
Despite the fact that Elisabeth Volkenrath tried to justify herself by saying that she was only following instructions from above, she was still accused of actively participating in the selection of prisoners before being sent to the crematorium, and was sentenced to death by hanging, the sentence was carried out in December 1945 year.

Frieda Walter, 23 years old, worked in a textile factory. She tried to justify that she was called up only in February 1944 and was guarding the kitchen. She was accused of ill-treatment of prisoners and sentenced to 3 years in prison.

Camp guards were involved in burying the corpses.

Bergen-Belsen was originally used as a prison camp; later it was converted into an “exchange” camp - a place where those Jewish prisoners who were going to be exchanged by the Nazis for their soldiers were kept. Ultimately, Bergen-Belsen turned into a regular concentration camp.
In 1935, the Wehrmacht decided to erect a military camp near the city of Bergen. Work continued until 1937; for the workers who erected this camp, a small settlement was built nearby. When the work was completed, the need for this settlement disappeared; The Nazis found a new use for it after the invasion of Poland in September 1939 - they began housing prisoners of war in former barracks for workers. Gradually, the former work camp turned into one of the largest prisoner of war camps operated by the Wehrmacht, holding a total of about 95,000 prisoners. Of course, the Nazis later had to erect additional barracks; A particularly serious expansion had to be carried out after the invasion of the USSR.
Part of Bergen-Belsen was included in the concentration camp system in April 1943. Prisoners intended for further exchange were kept in the camp; international commissions were supposed to be allowed into camps of this type, so the conditions of detention theoretically should have differed from those typical of other concentration camps. Indeed, for a long time the prisoners in the “exchange” part of the camp were treated relatively decently; over time, however, the value of the prisoners waned and their previously existing privileges were deprived of them. To be fair, it should be noted that the camp did not perform exchange functions particularly actively - during the entire operation of Bergen-Belsen, only 2,560 Jews left it alive.
In March 1944, part of Bergen-Belsen was converted into a “reconstruction camp”. Prisoners who were no longer able to work in other camps were gathered here. In theory, in the "reconstruction" camps, prisoners were supposed to be returned to working order; alas, the conditions in this camp were far from those of a sanatorium, and many “patients” died during the “recovery” process from hunger, fatigue and lack of medical care.
In December 1944, prisoners began to be transported to Bergen-Belsen from camps that had already been closed (due to the imminent offensive of Soviet and allied troops). If in July 1944 only 7,300 people were kept in the camp, then by December their number increased to 15,000, and in April to 60,000. The camp was not designed for such a number of prisoners; Disease and hunger claimed dozens of lives every day.
There were never gas chambers in Bergen-Belsen - mass executions were carried out in other camps to the east; However, even without the gas chambers, Bergen-Belsen remained a completely unbearable place to live. In total, during the entire operation of the camp, about 50,000 Jews, Czechs, Poles, Christians, homosexuals and gypsies died in it; It is known that it was in Bergen-Belsen that the Czech artist and writer Josef Čapek, brother of Karel Čapek, died in April 1945.
Allied forces approached Bergen-Belsen in April 1945. The Nazis decided to negotiate; the camp was surrendered without a fight, but most of the SS men were allowed to leave. At the time of liberation, there were approximately 53,000 prisoners in the camp; most of them were dying from hunger and disease.

Compared to the horrific number of men, women and children who died in the Nazi death camps, the death toll at Bergen-Belsen, a concentration camp in northwestern Germany, is relatively small. More than a million people were killed at Auschwitz-Birkenau, and Bergen-Belsen was the site of the death of less than 100,000 people who died from starvation, typhus and purges

In the spring of 1945, the camp was liberated and this opened the eyes of many to the horrors that the Germans were doing behind the walls of the concentration camps. Everyone was here - Slavs, gypsies, Jews, Catholics, pacifists, homosexuals, and many did not live to see this happy day

On the anniversary of the liberation of the camp (April 15, 1945) by British troops, LIFE.com presents a series of photographs taken at the camp. When these photographs were published, readers began to write to the editor about “barbarism and human degradation in German society”

George Roger, the author of these photographs (who later became one of the founders of Magnum) wrote about his impressions after what he saw... “Ukrainian women were preparing food in a landfill in the camp. For fuel they used scraps of clothing that they took from the corpses. They boiled the needles and roots, resulting in something like a soup.”

“There were more than 5,000 bodies in this huge grave. Former SS guards, women and men, brought the bodies and threw them into the pit... These girls, all of them were 20-25 years old, were worse than the men. They were very cruel. These girls burned bodies alive, killed and treated people like animals." "These girls seem completely indifferent to what they are doing (while unloading the bodies) ... They calmly stepped on the bodies and bones and skulls cracked under their feet ... »

Bergen-Belsen was a Nazi concentration camp located in the province of Hanover (today in the state of Lower Saxony) a mile from the village of Belsen and a few kilometers southwest of the city of Bergen. There were no gas chambers in the camp. But between 1943 and 1945, about 50 thousand prisoners died here, over 35 thousand of them from typhus a few months before the liberation of the camp. Anne Frank was among the dead.

It was created in May 1940 as Stalag 311 for prisoners of war from Belgium and France. The initial number of prisoners is 600 people. In the photo: a German boy walks along the road past hundreds of bodies of dead prisoners of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

In July 1941, about 20 thousand prisoners of war from the USSR arrived here; by the spring of 1942, 18 thousand of them died from hunger, cold and disease (only 2097 people survived). In the photo: prisoners of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Farsleben liberated by American troops.

In April 1943, the prisoner of war camp was closed and converted into a concentration camp for the temporary detention of those prisoners who held foreign passports and who could be exchanged for captured German citizens held in Allied camps. In the photo: a British soldier on a bulldozer collects the corpses of prisoners of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

A section for sick prisoners who could no longer work in labor camps was created in March 1944. In 1945, as the end of World War II became apparent, prisoners from other camps were transferred to Bergen-Belsen, although Bergen-Belsen was not equipped to accommodate so many prisoners. In the photo: former prisoners of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp dismantle their belongings before disinfection.

Former guards and guards of Bergen-Belsen unload the bodies of prisoners under the escort of British soldiers.
In the photo: Magdalene Kessel, Anneliese Kohlmann (1921-1977, in the back of the right trailer, fourth from the right; later sentenced to two years in prison), Charlotte Pliquet, Ilse Förster, convicted 10 years in prison, released in December 1951), Frieda Walter (sentenced to 3 years in prison) and SS Oberscharführer Friedrich Herzog (1886-1945, died in the summer of 1945 after contracting typhus).

Among the dead were the Czech artist and writer Josef Capek, Anne Frank and her sister Margot. In the photo: the bodies of deceased prisoners of Bergen-Belsen against the backdrop of a camp barracks.

On April 15, 1945, the Bergen-Belsen camp was voluntarily surrendered by the Germans to British armed forces officer Derrick Sington, who subsequently wrote a short book about this event (“Belsen Uncovered”, published by Duckworth, London, 1946). Despite all the efforts of British military doctors, about 13,000 prisoners died after the camp was handed over to the British. As a result of the transfer of control of Bergen-Belsen to the British armed forces, this camp became the first Nazi death camp to become infamous among American citizens. In the photo: dead and dying prisoners of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp lie on a pile of straw.

After the liberation of the camp by the British, SS soldiers were forbidden to wear gloves when clearing the camp of corpses and burying bodies, despite the serious threat of typhoid infection. Because of this, 20 of the 80 members of the camp guard (SS team) fell ill and died. In the photo: five former prisoners of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp have lunch near the bodies of the dead.

Civilian German population from nearby settlements 13,000 bodies of camp prisoners were forcibly brought to the burial. They also had to carry out these procedures without gloves and other protective equipment, under the threat of execution. The houses of German citizens were used to temporarily house the surviving prisoners of Bergen-Belsen. In the photo: three former prisoners of Bergen-Belsen carry the body of the deceased in a blanket.

Unlike the German soldiers, the British soldiers involved in clearing the camp of corpses used bulldozers to mass bury the decomposing bodies. Many who saw the film footage made by the British military at Bergen-Belsen believed that the bulldozers were being driven german soldiers. In the photo: a ditch with the bodies of prisoners of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

Former SS Obersturmführer Franz Hößler (1906-1945) at a microphone in front of a truck with the bodies of prisoners of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

A released prisoner of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp who fell ill with typhus in one of the camp barracks.

Liberated prisoners of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, mostly women and children, spend the night in one of the camp premises.