The Horrors of Belsen: piles of corpses awaiting burial
Object numberM2013/027:006
TitleThe Horrors of Belsen: piles of corpses awaiting burial
CreatorBritish War Office
DescriptionThis is an British official photograph.
This photo depicts what seems to be a forest with thousands of corpses of prisoners who had died at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The bodies are piled on top of one another in between the trees, as unformed men in the background walk amongst them. As this photo was taken around the time of the camp’s liberation, it is thought that the uniformed men are Allied soldiers.
There is a carbon-copy caption attached on to the back of the image which reads:
“British Official Photograph No. Bu. 4029. E.U.
(War Office Photo – Crown Copyright Reserved).
(Pictures issued April 1945).
The Horrors of Belsen.
One of a further set of pictures of the Belsen concentration camp, where British troops, who entered the camp on April 15th, found 60,000 men, women, children dying of starvation and disease. S.S. guards both men and women are now being forced at bayonet point to cart away and carry the thousands of victims they slowly tortured to death. Picture shows: piles of corpses awaiting burial
This photo depicts what seems to be a forest with thousands of corpses of prisoners who had died at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The bodies are piled on top of one another in between the trees, as unformed men in the background walk amongst them. As this photo was taken around the time of the camp’s liberation, it is thought that the uniformed men are Allied soldiers.
There is a carbon-copy caption attached on to the back of the image which reads:
“British Official Photograph No. Bu. 4029. E.U.
(War Office Photo – Crown Copyright Reserved).
(Pictures issued April 1945).
The Horrors of Belsen.
One of a further set of pictures of the Belsen concentration camp, where British troops, who entered the camp on April 15th, found 60,000 men, women, children dying of starvation and disease. S.S. guards both men and women are now being forced at bayonet point to cart away and carry the thousands of victims they slowly tortured to death. Picture shows: piles of corpses awaiting burial
Production placeBergen-Belsen concentration camp
Production date circa 1945-04
SubjectHolocaust, Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, concentration camps, nazi cruelty, liberation, corpses, death, victims, mass graves, civilians
Object namephotographs
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- width: 201.00 mm
height: 152.00 mm
Language
- English
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Mr Timothy Ring

