The Incredible Story Of The First Nazi Concentration Camp Freed by British Forces | Our History

Seventy-five years after its liberation by British troops, Jonathan Dimbleby travels to the site of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, following in the footsteps of his father Richard Dimbleby, whose 1945 radio report shocked the world and unmasked the true horror of the camps. This powerful and moving documentary also features the testimony of survivors, liberators - and their children, as Jonathan asks whether the lessons learned there have a resonance today.

This film was first broadcast: 07 Apr 2020

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#holocaust #worldwartwo #belsen

[mickeyp]

My Grandfather was one of the liberators of Belsen.
He suffered with PTSD until his death at 52 years of age in 1971
RIP Richard Platt

[johnnorman]

my uncle gordon was one of the lierators of belsen as well he had problems with PTSD as well, drink was his way out we never quite understod as children, i do now. RIP Gordon Allsworth

[Toiler]

As a Canadian soldier serving in Germany in the late 70's I had the opportunity to visit Belsen. To discover the truth of the tale that "no birds sing" in the area was a very sobering thing. It gave me a better appreciation of why we were doing the duty at hand in Germany. A visit to Auschwitz, while not quite as moving, reaffirmed it all. To those who's family were there, either as prisoners or liberators, I salute you all. I am moved by documentary's like this every time I watch one.

[Tonksys]

My grandad was one of the first paratroopers to come across Bergen-Belsen and - as mentioned in the documentary - would/could never talk about. My dad was based near the camp in the late 80s and so I went to visit the camp on two occasions. It was very eerie: it’s on the Luneberger Heide: full of trees but you can’t hear a single bird singing once you get inside. We are losing the last people who experienced this awful, awful period of history & I’m glad their stories are still being told.

[katewilmot]

My grandfather's cousin, Marya von soldenhoff, survived Bergen-Belson . She was transported there after having been in Ravensbrüch. She was also there at the time it was liberated, she was Polish and Christian 😢 Her account of her experiences in three concentration camps and interrogations are horrific. Thank you for this documentary, I feel so strongly that we should remember these stories and tell our younger generations in the hope that we never have to face this evil again. Thank you to those survivors who shared their stories with us on this video, god bless you all❤️

[RedEyedPatriot]

My Grandfather fought in the Aleutian Islands 43, 44 then Rhineland and Central Europe Jan 45 till the end. His 355th infantry regiment 89th infantry division liberated Ohrdruf April 5th 6th of 45. He earned 2 Bronze Stars for Valor 2 Theatre Ribbons and Riflemans Badge. He came home raised 8 kids and retired from the Bluegrass Army Depot after 30yrs. Passed away from lung cancer in 1988. He was an Honorable Man 🇺🇲

[brookwimbury]

My Rabbi was the second Rabbi to enter Belsen on liberation. I served with the British Army at Hohne next to Belsen in the late 70s. I will never forget the place; the Rabbi and I spoke for hours about this place and experiences.

[ashley-czsl]

My grandfather was one of the photo journalists that took the pictures at Bergen-Belsen. The sad thing is there is still this much hate in the world and this could happen again.

[tedjones]

I visited Bergen-Belsen in the summer of 1972 - we were staying in Hamburg as my dad, a captain in the British merchant Marine, had a ship in dry-dock. It was mid July. but the camp had an eerie coldness that I have never forgotten. It has always been a horrendous reminder to me of the Holocaust; especially, when I have read about deniers that this ever took place. The evidence is overwhelming! I have never forgotten the experience - and never will...

[renee]

My heart is always with The Innocent Victims, Survivors, and Those that Fought for Them. It took Courage just to Fight each day to Live! It's an Honor to hear Survivors speak. Thank You for sharing. Shalom.

[annhall]

My father was a Canadian soldier who was with the British on the day Belsen was liberated. The only thing he ever said about it was he couldn't believe a human being could do these horrific things to a fellow human being. He never fully recovered from that day.

[CELEESST]

My grandmother had to go to Germany to do forced labor, she was in Walsrode, and saw the trains passing towards the concentration camps. Even she was traumatized. I also saw a genocide up close, in 1991 the genocide of the Hutus in Rwanda. And I had PTSD for a long time from everything I saw. I am glad that I can talk about it now. But that was not the case for years. Until I was treated for the traumas.

[joantennant]

My uncle was one of the soldiers who saw the deadfall horror of belson when they librated the camp he suffered nightmares up to the time he died he never spoke about it my aunt told me when he died we must never forget or our grand children the horrors that happened to those people who suffered and died there

[bobnic]

My dad was a POW at Stalag 8b following the fall of Tobruk. He was a medical msn and when the Americans liberated him in 1945 he went with them to assist survivors at a concentration camp. During the war dad had to treat some horrific wounds but what he saw at the concentration camp shook him to the core. If he didn't know before, he certainly knew then what they were fighting for.

[grant]

Thank you for mentioning the members of my faith community who suffered at Bergen-Belsen. May all the victims never be forgotten.

[bowlnow]

My grandfather fought in World War II. I was not interested in World War II when he was alive but I remember my grandma telling me when he got back before they had kids. He shook his hand to the good Lord he says don't you ever give me a son. I do not want my children to see what I have seen. I never spoke about World War II because he passed away when I was 13 years old. I could not imagine what the survivors went through and the liberators as well. And the people who were murdered and tortured in the camp

[derin]

I went to Bergen-Belsen two years ago, on my own, on a cold mid-week day in February with light snow patches still on the ground and an eerie silence.

Even today, nearly 80 years on, the place has the most desolate, disconsolate and utterly depressing atmosphere.

It is heartrending and heartbreaking

[nicksealey]

I visited this place in 2003, , not a single animal, insect insight, , total magnetically drawn to it's history in my whole body, , not before or after I've ever felt like that, , , God Bless All That Fell, , ,

[ElseMarie-xo]

A very fine video. Bergen-Belsen was horrific, unimaginably so. Many years ago my teacher read aloud to my class 'The Diary of Anne Frank'. We were her age and could in many ways relate to her on a personal level. I have never forgotten that. Many times when hearing about refugees or people who are in danger just because of who they are, I think of Anne and her family and the others in the attic - and of course they are a symbol for all who suffered the same. Then, as we see it here, there are also the ones who had to take care of the barely living and clean the whole horrible mess up after the liberation - and the families of both groups. Such awful things are not just affecting those who experience them, they have severe influence on more generations. Let it never happen again.

[andreafisher]

I think of survivors as heros! They went thru so much and survived it such strength! God Bless you all, and I'm sorry you had to go thru all that