Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp – Lohheide, Germany - Atlas Obscura

Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp

Lohheide, Germany

A Nazi concentration camp and Anne Frank's place of death. 

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The horrors of this concentration camp, documented on film and in pictures, made the name “Belsen” emblematic of Nazi crimes in general for public opinion in many countries in the immediate post-1945 period. Today, there is a memorial with an exhibition hall at the site.

Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of Bergenbelsen became a concentration camp. Initially it was an “exchange camp,” where Jewish hostages were held with the intention of exchanging them for German prisoners of war held overseas. The camp was later expanded to accommodate Jews from other concentration camps. It is also the location where writer Anne Frank passed away.

From 1941 to 1945, almost 20,000 Soviet prisoners of war and a further 50,000 inmates died at this camp. Overcrowding, lack of food and poor sanitary conditions caused outbreaks of typhus, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and dysentery, leading to the deaths of more than 35,000 people in the first few months of 1945, shortly before and after the liberation.

Soldiers that liberated the camp discovered approximately 60,000 prisoners inside, most of them half-starved and seriously ill, and another 13,000 corpses lying around the camp unburied. The camp was liberated on April 15, 1945, by the British 11th Armoured Division. 

Know Before You Go

The Bergen-Belsen Memorial is located in the southern part of Lüneburg Heath, about 25 kilometres from the town of Celle. About 300,000 people visit the Memorial each year.

By car:
There are signs for the Bergen-Belsen Memorial on the A7/E45 and A352 motorways as well as the roads leading from them to the Memorial. The nearest motorway exits are the “Soltau-Ost” exit when coming from the north and the “Mellendorf" exit when coming from the west or south. It takes around 20 minutes to reach the Memorial from the “Soltau-Ost” exit via Bergen and around 35 minutes from the “Mellendorf” exit via Winsen/Aller.
Please follow the signs, as GPS directions to the Memorial are not always reliable.
Parking at the Memorial is free of charge.

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June 14, 2015

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