Belsen: the liberation of a concentration camp

Examines British responses to Belsen's liberation, its importance as a landmark in British History and ideas about the Holocaust. In April and May 1945, Belsen concentration camp was liberated and entered Western consciousness for the first time through unprecedented and disturbing images. Includes survivor testimony to illustrate life in the concentration camp and the experience of liberation. By examining Belsen's place in the Holocaust, as well as Anglo-Jewish and popular responses in the media, the author provides the context for Western reactions to concentration camps and analyses descriptions of Britain's part in the Second World War. Argues that Belsen played a key part in post-World War II perceptions of Nazism, becoming a symbol of the righteousness of the British war effort and hence a justification of "saturation" bombing of cities.