The voices of veterans recounting their experiences of a Second World War concentration camp can now be heard online thanks to Durham County Record Office.
A new page has been added to the Record Office’s existing schools web resource, Surviving Belsen, which uses archives to explore the story of the infamous concentration camp, located in Lower Saxony, Germany and established in April 1943.
The new page, ‘In Their Own Words’, contains interviews of veterans from the 113th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment who, before the war, were part-time volunteer soldiers and became full time territorial soldiers when the war broke out.
The regiment was involved in the relief and liberation of Belson, tasked with burying the dead and providing food, medical attention and care for the survivors.
Gill Parkes, principal archivist at the Durham County Record Office, said: “Soldiers did not often speak of their experiences at Belson concentration camp at the time. Many wanted to escape the things they had seen.
“Years later however, veterans from across the regiment were interviewed as part of the Imperial War Museum (IWM) oral history project. This has given us a rich resource here in Durham, granting insight into some of the harshest parts of history and the personal experiences of those who survived them. This is particularly timely, with Holocaust Memorial Day upcoming on Sunday 27 January.”
The new page can be found at: http://www.durhamrecordoffice.org.uk/article/19845/In-Their-Own-Words
A related exhibition, Surviving Belsen, will be at Bishop Auckland Library as part of a wider Holocaust Memorial Day exhibition from Monday 21 January to Friday 1 February. A special day of events, including a talk from Holocaust survivor Eva Clarke, will take place on Saturday 26 January.
Gill Parkes added: “The page offers rich primary material for schools, students and the interested public. Hearing the experiences of soldiers brings history to life, and it is invaluable for young people to engage with history in this way. We also offer workshops using the above material to schools and community groups.”
Please contact 03000 267626 or record.office@durham.gov.uk for more information on workshops.
For more information on Holocaust Memorial Day events visit http://www.bishopaucklandtownhall.org.uk/