Liberation of Bergen-Belsen photographs, 1945
Collection context
Summary
- Extent:
- .21 Linear Feet
- 47 Photographic Prints
- Language:
- English
Background
- Scope and content:
This box contains 47 photographs during the British liberation of Bergen-Belsen. Some are graphic depictions of corpses and show local German residents assisting in the recovery. School children in many photographs are not identified while others are portraits of camp inmates.
- Biographical / historical:
By April, 1945, American and British armies began liberating concentration camps throughout Germany. When General Dwight Eisenhower arrived at Ohrdruf, a sub-camp of Buchenwald, he immediately summoned journalists and film and photography crews to document what he saw and what was discovered. As well, Eisenhower demanded the surrounding German population be summoned to the site, witness what took place, and assist in the recovery.
The camp at Bergen-Belsen, in northern Germany near Hanover, was liberated by the British 2nd Army and the British military, like Eisenhower, demanded residents from the nearby town of Bergen to bear witness. The British discovered about 60,000 survivors in various states of deprivation. After liberation, more than 14,000 died.
During World War II, seven concentration camps, near Hanover, were constructed by the Nazis. The photographs in this box contain images only from Bergen-Belsen.
German residents, in photographs discovered in this box, may not have resided in Bergen directly but did arrive from surrounding communities. What was certain that the horror and shock that Eisenhower incurred when he entered Ohrdruf, with American generals George S. Patton and Omar Bradley, was striking and overwhelming.
Beginning in 1941, photographers Harry Oakes and Bill Lawrie were assigned to the 2nd Army to document British involvement in World War II. Both accompanied the 2nd Army in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen. Though the photographs in this collection remain without attribution, Oakes and Lawrie likely took the photographs.
Access and use
- Terms of access:
None. The contents of the collection may be subject to copyright. Visit the United States Copyright Office's website at http://www.copyright.gov/ for more information.
- Location of this collection:
-
The University of South Florida, Tampa Campus4202 East Fowler Ave. LIB122TampaFL33620-5400USA
