Information for registered groups
A guided tour of the Bergen-Belsen Memorial takes 3.5 hours.
Procedure of the guided tours
The guides walk the grounds of the former Prisoners of War and concentration camp together with the group. Using historical sources, maps and biographies, as well as a visit to the permanent exhibition and discussions in the seminar room, participants are given an overview of the site and learn about the historical context.
The history of the site is embedded in the context of the general history of the Nazi era, Nazi persecution policy, the Nazi camp system, the so-called people's community (Volksgemeinschaft), the Second World War and the war of annihilation against the Soviet Union. The history of the survivors after liberation and their life in the nearby Displaced Persons camp is part of the event, as is the history of the memorial and the socio-political treatment of the site.
The order and scope of the individual components of a guided tour vary. They are based on the prior knowledge and needs of the participants.
Please note:
- A visit to the permanent exhibition is part of the programme of every guided tour. The history of the POW and concentration camp and the Displaced Persons camp is documented here. Participants can look forward to a wide range of photos, interviews with eye witnesses, documents and artefacts.
- The Prisoners of War cemetery in Hörsten and the loading platform in Bergen are not part of our guided tours.
- Barracks, watchtowers and fences were demolished shortly after the camps were liberated, so there are few visible remains of the camps on today's memorial site.
- The memorial is a place of remembrance and a cemetery.
- Cost contribution
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€45 per group of up to 18 people (€30 reduced rate for school/training/university groups)
- Duration
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3.5 hours
Appointment requests for groups
Please note: The dates for guided tours and study days are largely fully booked.
Notes on your visit
You should know this:
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To prepare for your visit, we recommend our Pageflow "Bergen-Belsen. No ordinary excursion" and the digital educational materials. The Pageflow web application is aimed at students and contains some historical data and information about the guided tours. You are welcome to share the link with your learning group in advance. The educational materials include various documents, sources and extracts from interviews with contemporary witnesses. They cover various topics relating to the history of Bergen-Belsen as well as the history of National Socialism in general, the Shoah and the Second World War.
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For guided tours and study days, we charge a standard participation fee of €45 per group of up to 18 people (€30 for school, vocational training and university groups). This fee serves to expand and improve the services offered by the Memorial. Groups are asked to pay the fee on site on the agreed date.
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Upon application, the Lower Saxony Memorials Foundation grants subsidies for memorial tours up to 50 per cent of the travel costs. This is primarily intended to enable young people to visit a memorial site in Lower Saxony in connection with school and extracurricular educational programmes. You can find out more about how to apply here.