Address: Stiftung niedersächsische Gedenkstätten (-> http://www.stiftung-ng.de),
Gedenkstätte Bergen-Belsen, Anne-Frank-Platz, 29303 Lohheide, Germany
Tel.: +49 (0) 5051 4759-112, Fax: +49 (0) 5051 4759-18
E-Mail:

Sketch February 1945 Concentration Camp Bergen-Belsen (1) Prison Camp II In the autumn of 1944 an increasing number of prisoners from concentration camps near the front line were evacuated and brought to Bergen-Belsen. The overcrowded Häftlingslager I (Prison Camp I) could not take all the male prisoners from these evacuation transports. The Häftlingslager II was established to accomodate them. (1a) Star Camp Approximately 4.000 Jewish concentration camp prisoners, intended for an exchange, of which the largest contingent were Dutch Jews, were interned here. „Star Camp " meant that the prisoners had to wear the yellow Star of David on their cilvilian clothes. Men and women were accomodated separately but families were permitted to meet during the day. Work was obligatory. (2) Neutral Camp In the Neutralenlager (Neutral Camp) several hundred Jews with passports from neutral countries were imprisoned. Compared to other sections of Bergen-Belsen, conditions here were quite tolerable until March 1945. Prisoners were not allocated to work commandos. Back (3) Isolation hut The isolation hut was part of the Häftlingslager II. There prisoners were housed who suffered from typhoid fever. 4) Special Camp and Hungarian Camp In mid-1943 several thousand Polish Jews had been deported here. Most of them were in possession of temporary passports from South American countries. These prisoners were not allocated to work commandos either and kept in strict isolation since they had full knowledge of the cruelties committed by the SS in Poland. By mid-1944 most of these had been transported to Auschwitz and murdered. Only about 350 of them remained in the camp. The Hungarian camp was established in July 1944 for 1.683 Hungarian Jews. Himmler negotiated with Jewish organizations in other countries to exchange these Hungarian Jews for money and goods. They wore civilian clothing with the Star of David; they were not forced to work. (5) Prison Camp I The Häftlingslager (Prison Camp) was established at the very beginning. At first it was used to accomodate a 'construction commando' of some 500 prisoners whom the SS had brought to Bergen-Belsen from the concentration camps Buchenwald, Wewelsburg and Natzweiler. Since March 1944, this section of the camp received prisoners of other concentration camps who were sick or unable to work. They suffered horrendously bad conditions. Prison uniforms, hard labour to the point of collapse, abuse by the SS and the Kapos, inadequate medical care and a high mortality rate characterized the situation in the Häftlingslager. Back (7) Large Women's Camp Due to an increasing number of evacuation transports from the concentration camps close to the front line, the former hospital for prisoners of war was incorporated into the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen. Here the major women's camp was established. (8) Smaller Women's Camp Since August 1944 women, who had mainly been deported from the KZ Auschwitz to Bergen-Belsen, were accomodated in the smaller women's camp.

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Last Update of this page on 25. February 2008.