Bergen-Belsen Memorial
- Visit: 150 min
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Why go
- Walk the extensive historic camp grounds, now a cemetery.
- The permanent exhibition is housed in the Documentation Centre.
- The House of Silence provides a place for reflection.
Opening hours
Today10:00 – 18:00Show all
Don't miss
- Anne and Margot Frank memorial gravestoneThe sisters died at Bergen-Belsen in 1945; this gravestone commemorates them.Memorial grounds
- Mass-grave moundsThese burial mounds commemorate victims at a camp where at least 52,000 prisoners died before liberation because of their conditions of confinement.Memorial grounds
- National memorialsJewish, Polish and Dutch memorials commemorate the dead.Memorial grounds
- Memorial to eight Turkish citizensDedicated in December 2012 to eight Turkish citizens killed at Bergen-Belsen.Memorial grounds2012
Know before you go
- Backpacks and large bags can be stored in lockers beside the Documentation Centre toilets.
- Bicycles, scooters, skateboards and skates are not allowed on the grounds; bicycle racks are in the car park.
- Dogs other than assistance dogs are not allowed in the buildings, cemetery or historic camp grounds.
Tips for your visit
- Allow at least 2.5 hours for the exhibition and former camp grounds.
- Wear sturdy shoes outdoors.
- Toilets are in the Documentation Centre entrance and behind the administration building.
- For enquiries, call the memorial on +49 5051 47590.
With kids
- The permanent exhibition is not suitable for children under 14.
- A changing table is available in the Documentation Centre.
Interesting facts3
-
1943
Around 120,000 prisoners passed through the concentration camp between 1943 and 1945.
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp - Wikipedia -
55,000 former
The SS destroyed the camp files; around 55,000 former prisoners are known by name.
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp - Wikipedia -
British troops burned the barracks to curb typhus and lice; the memorial area later largely reverted to heath.
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp - Wikipedia
History
Between 1943 and 1944, at least 14,600 Jews, including 2,750 minors, were sent to the exchange camp. Only around 2,560 Jewish prisoners were released and allowed to leave Germany. For thousands of prisoners, Bergen-Belsen was also a transit point to extermination camps. Fourteen memorial stones commemorate Soviet prisoners buried about a kilometre from the camp.
- Before 1940Barracks built for workers constructing the Bergen military training area later became part of the camp.
- 1940The camp opened for French and Belgian prisoners of war.
- 1941From summer 1941, the camp held more than 20,000 Soviet prisoners of war.
- April 1943The SS took over the southern grounds. Jewish prisoners were held there for possible exchange with German civilians interned abroad.
- 1944A section held sick prisoners transferred from other concentration camps. From August, companies selected forced labourers at the camp, which also served as a transit camp.
Show all
- 15 April 1945The British 11th Armoured Division liberated the camp. About 60,000 prisoners were held in a camp designed for about 10,000; soldiers found about 13,000 unburied bodies.
- April–June 1945Almost 29,000 survivors moved to the nearby displaced persons camp within four weeks. About 14,000 former prisoners died there by the end of June.
- September 1945Jewish displaced people built the first wooden memorial.
- 15 April 1946A stone memorial was dedicated on the first anniversary of liberation.
- November 1952The permanent memorial was inaugurated.
- 1966A document centre opened with an exhibition about the persecution of Jews and the camp’s history.
- 1990A larger document building opened, and the permanent exhibition was replaced.
How to get there
- BusFrom Celle railway station, take bus 100 or 900 and change to bus 110 in Bergen or Winsen/Aller; alight at Belsen, Gedenkstätte.
- CarThe memorial is signposted on the A7/E45 and A352.
Sources: Bergen-Belsen concentration camp - Wikipedia · Bergen (Germany) - Wikivoyage (see) · Bergen-Belsen | Bergen-Belsen Memorial · Visit | Bergen-Belsen Memorial · Directions and Opening Hours | Bergen-Belsen Me… · KZ Bergen-Belsen - Wikipedia · Bergen-Belsen - Wikipedia · Bergen-Belsen Memorial: tickets (its own site) · checked 12 Oct 2026
- Website
- bergen-belsen.de/
- Phone
- +49505147590
Questions and answers
Were there gas chambers at Bergen-Belsen Memorial?
No. At least 52,000 prisoners died at the camp before liberation because of their conditions of confinement.
How was Bergen-Belsen liberated?
British forces negotiated a truce and a neutral zone around the camp before liberation.
Who reported on Bergen-Belsen’s liberation?
BBC reporter Richard Dimbleby accompanied British troops and reported on the scenes after liberation.
Who documented relief work at Bergen-Belsen?
British military photographers recorded the camp and relief work from 15 April to 9 June 1945. The original photographs are now at the Imperial War Museum.
What does the Polish cross at Bergen-Belsen commemorate?
It commemorates murdered Polish prisoners and succeeds a wooden cross dedicated on 2 November 1945.
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