visual diary
Object numberM2019/038:001
Titlevisual diary
Creator Mike Lewis (maker)
DescriptionBlue, hardcover album of captioned photographs which form a chronological diary of the WWII experiences of Sergeant Mike Lewis. The photographs begin in North Africa, where Mike served in Algiers in November 1942 with the Parachute regiment. They cover the battle at Arnhem, in Holland, after Mike transferred to the Army Film and Photographic Unit (AFPU) as a combat cameraman, and the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The final pages of the album document the celebrations in Denmark at the end of the war.
Mike Lewis was born Colman Michael Wiessenberg, in London on 6 February 1918. He was the son of Polish Jews who had come to Britain before the First World War. Mike was called up in 1940 and joined the Royal Fusiliers, but volunteered for the Parachute regiment in December 1941 to escape the boring routine of Infantry. He successfully passed through the tough parachute training course, despite a fear of heights. He served in several engagements against the Afrika Corps in Algiers and was wounded in the arms and legs. After hospitalisation in Tunis, Lewis joined the newly formed AFPU in Algiers when he heard they were setting up an Airborne Section. He took part in the airborne invasion of Sicily, but his plane was hit by flak and returned to the UK. From there he went on to cover the battle for the bridge at Arnhem and was one of the few to escape. The following year he was sent to cover the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. He was a member of the flying column that pushed beyond the battle lines to occupy Denmark. After the war, Mike went on to work as a news cameraman for the BBC until his retirement. He died in Australia on 8 April 1986.
This album is part of a larger collection of photographs, documents, artworks and objects that formed the personal archive of Mike Lewis.
Mike Lewis was born Colman Michael Wiessenberg, in London on 6 February 1918. He was the son of Polish Jews who had come to Britain before the First World War. Mike was called up in 1940 and joined the Royal Fusiliers, but volunteered for the Parachute regiment in December 1941 to escape the boring routine of Infantry. He successfully passed through the tough parachute training course, despite a fear of heights. He served in several engagements against the Afrika Corps in Algiers and was wounded in the arms and legs. After hospitalisation in Tunis, Lewis joined the newly formed AFPU in Algiers when he heard they were setting up an Airborne Section. He took part in the airborne invasion of Sicily, but his plane was hit by flak and returned to the UK. From there he went on to cover the battle for the bridge at Arnhem and was one of the few to escape. The following year he was sent to cover the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. He was a member of the flying column that pushed beyond the battle lines to occupy Denmark. After the war, Mike went on to work as a news cameraman for the BBC until his retirement. He died in Australia on 8 April 1986.
This album is part of a larger collection of photographs, documents, artworks and objects that formed the personal archive of Mike Lewis.
Production placeLondon, England
Production date circa 1945
Object namejournals
Materialpaper, photographic emulsion, paper, paper
Dimensions
- width: 255.00 mm
width: 450.00 mm
height: 355.00 mm
depth: 40.00 mm
Language
- English “One day in April 1945 when the front line had just been advanced beyond Celle, German officers came through the British lines blindfolded, their mission was to negotiate a truce for a camp which lay in their area. They were concerned not with welfare of inmates of this camp who they said were ‘criminals and typhus cases’ but with possibility that if these people escaped during the battle they might spread disease throughout Germany.
Apparently the parties could not reach agreement, it seemed that the terms did not allow for favourable battle dispositions.
Subsequent events showed that the battle flowed all round the camp so that it was an island of neutral ground. German troops left in the camp together with some Hungarian soldiers looked after things until British troops arrived in sufficient numbers to take over. The neutral period lasted for four days. About six fighter planes of the Luftwaffe came over on the fifth day and strafed and bombed the camp. The British hospital set up in a field and identified by a huge red cross on the ground seemed to get the worst effects. This raid caused a number of casualties amongst our men.
I think it was on the first day of entry by British soldiers into this camp or maybe the next day that I arrived with Sgt. Laurie and Oakes to photograph and film conditions.
We found that the camp was adjacent to Belsen village.
The Werhmacht troops were taken with their weapons in British transport back to their lines.
There were hundreds dead and dying in the camp. Mostly Jews as far as I can see. Most countries of Europe were represented, including Germany. One thing noted was that the prisoners included those who in a normal life would have constituted the leading sections of a community in education, training and culture. Members of the S.S. men and women were made to bury the dead, greatly to the joy of the people. Even though we could give them little food at first, they were ill for a few days due to the high fat content which their digestions were unaccustomed to for so long.
In spite of all the efforts made many hundreds continued to die. Official figures are:
10,000 dead on our arrival.
13,000 died subsequently
Those who survived will long be branded by their memories.”
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Helen Lewis. This collection was donated in memory of Mike Lewis who filmed the liberation Bergen-Belsen concentration camp as part of the British Army Film and Photographic Unit.