Liberating Belsen: Remembering the Soldiers of the Durham Light Infantry

Description

Nothing, no amount of training, could have prepared a small group of soldiers from the Durham Light Infantry for what they discovered on 18 April 1945, less than a month before the end of WWII in Europe. Of the fifty-five million killed during the war, over ten per cent were murdered civilians. A majority of these were Jewish, although there were a significant number of political deaths, and killings of innocent civilians and minorities. This book is about how the world came to hear about these murders in what later came to be called the Holocaust—the collective extermination of almost six million people. Through the words of those brave soldiers who made the ghastly discoveries, and the thoughts of the survivors of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, we are told the story of the infantrymen who uncovered those monstrous crimes seventy years ago, and the traumatic effect it had on their lives. Perfect as a coursebook for GCSE and A-Level students, this book will also appeal to adults who are interested in this critical period of history, and the role played by the DLI.