The British liberate Bergen-Belsen
Bergen-Belsen was liberated on April 15, 1945 by a British-Canadian unit of the Allied army. The camp was voluntarily turned over by the man in charge, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, due to the fear that the typhus epidemic would spread to both the German and British sides. Before any negotiations were made, the head of the
Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), had sent an order out on April 7 to the commandant of Bergen Belsen, Josef Kramer, stating that all prisoners in the camp should be killed instead of letting them fall into the hands of the enemy, supposedly coming from Hitler himself. When the World Jewish Congress in Stockholm heard the plans, they contacted Felix Kersten, a Swedish chiropractor who was able to persuade a reverse in the order. However, Hitler was furious when he found out his plan was shot down.
Negotiations for the camp to be turned over to the British took several days. On April 12, a cease-fire agreement was signed between the local German Military Commander and the British Chief of Staff. There was a neutral zone that was made 48 square kilometers around Bergen-Belsen. Until the British came, the camp was guarded by a unit of Hungarian soldiers from the German army. The afternoon of April 15, British forces arrived at the German Army training garrison in which the transfer of the neutral territory at the camp was made.
The first British units to enter the camp were from the 14 Amplifier Unit. Three of the soldiers on the tanks were Jewish including Chaim Herzog who was a young Jewish officer with the Intelligence Corps; he later became Israel's Ambassador to the UN and then President of Israel.
Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), had sent an order out on April 7 to the commandant of Bergen Belsen, Josef Kramer, stating that all prisoners in the camp should be killed instead of letting them fall into the hands of the enemy, supposedly coming from Hitler himself. When the World Jewish Congress in Stockholm heard the plans, they contacted Felix Kersten, a Swedish chiropractor who was able to persuade a reverse in the order. However, Hitler was furious when he found out his plan was shot down.
Negotiations for the camp to be turned over to the British took several days. On April 12, a cease-fire agreement was signed between the local German Military Commander and the British Chief of Staff. There was a neutral zone that was made 48 square kilometers around Bergen-Belsen. Until the British came, the camp was guarded by a unit of Hungarian soldiers from the German army. The afternoon of April 15, British forces arrived at the German Army training garrison in which the transfer of the neutral territory at the camp was made.
The first British units to enter the camp were from the 14 Amplifier Unit. Three of the soldiers on the tanks were Jewish including Chaim Herzog who was a young Jewish officer with the Intelligence Corps; he later became Israel's Ambassador to the UN and then President of Israel.