Bergen Belsen Memorial Site

The Central Memorial Site of Lower Saxony

Bergen-Belsen was the prisoner of war and concentration camp, disguised by the Nazis as the "Bergen-Belsen Recreation Camp".  Approximately 100,000 people died here, between 1941 and 1945. From 1946 onwards, an obelisk and a wall of inscriptions were erected on the site of the former concentration camp at the instigation of the British military authorities. In 1952, the care and maintenance of the memorial passed to the state of Lower Saxony.

A  permanent exhibition on display in The Documentation House was opened to the public in 1966, to provide visitors with an overall impression of the camp and the political conditions which led to its creation. In 1990, the exhibition was significantly expanded and housed in a newly built extension to the Documentation House and which today provides a more comprehensive insight into history of Bergen-Belsen, as a Concentration Camp and Prisoner of War facility. 

Bergen-Belsen is the Central Memorial site of the state of Lower Saxony. Its purpose is to raise awareness of the criminal and inhumane regime of National Socialism and to ensure the memory of its victims is kept alive.

Please note: Throughout the site not all pathways are surfaced. Please enquire at the information desk in the Documentation House, which areas are suitable for wheelchairs.