Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Historical Site

Address: Bergen-Belsen Memorial, Fuhrberger Straße 5, 29303 Bergen, Lower Saxony, Germany

Website: https://www.bergen-belsen.stiftung-ng.de/en/

Hours: Documentation Centre: Tue-Sun 9:00am-5:00pm (hours may vary); memorial grounds open daylight hours

Admission: Free admission to the memorial grounds; the Documentation Centre has a suggested donation (varies)

Bergen-Belsen was a Nazi camp complex near the town of Bergen in Lower Saxony, Germany, originally established during World War II and converted into a concentration camp during the later war years. The site is now a memorial and documentation centre commemorating victims and explaining the camp’s history.

Today the grounds include a large memorial cemetery with field monuments and a documentation centre that displays survivor testimony, photographs and historical research. The memorial emphasises education about the camp’s operation and the humanitarian crisis discovered by liberating forces.

Bergen-Belsen was liberated by British troops on 15 April 1945; the last months of the camp saw severe overcrowding, disease and high mortality, circumstances documented by contemporary accounts and subsequent investigations.

The memorial is located on the site of the former camp near Bergen in Lower Saxony and is accessible to the public with interpreted exhibitions and commemorative areas.

• Visitor conduct: The site is a place of remembrance and requires respectful behaviour; guided tours and educational visits are available through the documentation centre.
• Liberation date: The camp was liberated by British forces on 15 April 1945; the documentation centre covers the final months when many prisoners died from disease and starvation.

What to See#

• Memorial cemetery: The memorial cemetery and field monuments mark burial sites and mass graves and form the primary outdoor commemoration area on the former camp grounds.
• Documentation Centre: The Documentation Centre (museum) presents historical information, survivor testimonies and displays about the camp’s operation and liberation.

Bergen-Belsen is about 40 km north of Hanover (Hannover) and 70 km from Hamburg by car. Trains run to Celle and regional buses or taxis serve Bergen-Belsen from Celle station. The memorial is accessible by local bus (line 1 from Bergen) and has on-site parking.

• Approach the site quietly and allow time to visit both the outdoor memorial and the indoor documentation centre.
• Do not arrive expecting spectacle - the memorial's power is in restraint: names on stone, sparse information and a quiet landscape.
• Check the Documentation Centre's opening hours before visiting; guided tours and school groups are common.