Bergen-Belsen

Location:

Lower Saxony in northwestern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle

Original use:

Originally established as the prisoner of war camp Stalag XI-C, in 1943 it became a concentration camp on the orders of Heinrich Himmler, where Jewish hostages were held with the intention of exchanging them for German prisoners of war held overseas

Operational:

April 1943 – April 1945

Operated by:

German Schutzstaffel (SS)

Commandants:

SS Hauptsturmführer Josef Kramer
(December 1944 – April 1945)

SS Hauptscharführer Ernst Balz
(October 1944 – April 1945)

SS Unterscharführer Karl Egersdörfer
(April 1945)

Irma Grese [over female prisoners]
(March 1945 – April 1945)

Estimated deaths:

50,000 Jews, Czechs, Poles, anti-Nazi Christians, homosexuals, Roma and Gypsies

Liberated:

April 15, 1945 by the British 11th Armoured Division