Bergen-Belsen served as many different camps - three in particular. Then, out of these three, there are subdivisions. Bergen-Belsen was created as a POW camp - then a concentration camp. Finally, it will become a displaced persons camp - a lot of people forget that after the Holocaust occurred, there was another problem to face - what do we do with all of the victims that have no place to go? Have no family? Are waiting to hear from their family? Are to sick to move? Are afraid to return home? Many of the displaced persons camps were located a couple of kilometers away from massive camps.
Bergen-Belsen was liberated by the British on April 15th, 1945. Shortly after, the British had to completely burn down Bergen-Belsen due to the spread of diseases. Typhoid was spreading like crazy due to the lack of sanitation. Anne Frank and her sister died in Bergen-Belsen only a month before liberation. The memorial to her is the picture I have placed with this blog.
Because the camp was burned down, there aren't any buildings or barracks. Basically, the operators of Bergen-Belsen have excavated sites where latrines and the fire hole were located. They have also mowed down the area so that we can have a visualization of how the camp was laid out. Most impressive were the memorials erected for the fallen. I have also included another picture with some of the memorials. Last but not least, the toughest part is walking throughout the camp, and every so often, one would run into a mass gravesite with 5,000 dead or 1,000 dead. I have also included a picture of that as well. It is mind-boggling.
I enjoyed walking through the exhibits as well. There are several artifacts within the exhibit - the one that stood out to me the most was a pair of gloves. A young girl at the age of 12 was in the Bergen-Belsen camp. A Russian lady who was also in the camp noticed her hands were turning blue from the cold; therefore, she knitted her a pair of gloves using the only items she could find. Those are truly gloves knitted with love - I'm sure she did not have the materials available to knit her the gloves, but instead, she used her own clothes to produce such gloves for a little girl. We know this story because the 12 year old survived to tell her story. And if you know anything about the Holocaust, one small and simple act of kindness could help you live another hour, day, or even month. It made me think of kids today - if I were in the same situation, I would be out of luck! I mean goodness, our generation panicky without internet or cable or wifi! (By the way, I never knew how much I took wifi for granted until I came overseas!)
Tonight, we are staying in Berlin. On the way to our hotel, I got to see some watchtowers from the Berlin Wall. That was pretty cool to see - creepy to be in the city that Hitler refused to leave and ended up committing suicide in. Anyways, it is well near midnight here and we must be up at 6 to keep our move on. Until tomorrow! :)