Artifacts from Liberation
(14 April 2020 – Jerusalem) In the months leading up to the end of World War II, conditions in Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp worsened as tens of thousands of evacuated prisoners arrived from Death Marches from camps in the east. Overcrowding and sanitary conditions inside the camp rapidly deteriorated. In one month alone, March 1945, some 18,000 prisoners died in the camp. When British allied forces entered the Bergen-Belsen camp on 15 April 1945, they were totally shocked; 60,000 prisoners on the brink of death.
As the world marks the anniversary and the 75th anniversary to liberation of Bergen-Belsen, Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, has uploaded a unique online collection of artifacts relating to liberation.
Of the thousands of survivors liberated from Bergen-Belsen and other concentration camps, many, if not most, were found in the worst physical and emotional condition. The survivors had nothing but the rags they were wearing. With liberation also came the realization of the loss of their family and friends.
As some of the survivors began to recuperate physically, they began seeking personal effects such as shirts, shoes and toothbrushes. These items had tremendously sentimental importance to them, not related to their practical purpose. These items signified restored feelings of self-worth and dignity. With the help of these items, these survivors began to rebuild their lives and leave behind a world in which the Nazis and their collaborators had nearly robbed them of – their humanity – and reduce them to mere numbers.
Over the years, Yad Vashem has been gathering these personal items from survivors and their family members in an effort to ensure that their stories remain forever. This online collection will help provide an insight into the personal stories behind the victims of the Holocaust.
https://www.yadvashem.org/artifacts/featured/liberation.html.
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