The world was shocked beyond belief by the horrors of Bergen-Belsen.
Liberators entering the concentration camp on April 15, 1945 found thousands of corpses unburied on the campgrounds. Too ill to recover, 13,000 other inmates died after liberation with the official end of the war in Europe only weeks away. The risk of typhus spreading saw the camp in northern Germany burnt to the ground after evacuation.
Recording those horrific first moments was Australian war artist Alan Moore. His story - and the story of Bergen-Belsen – is now a major feature documentary by award-winning Australian filmmaker Frank Shields.
His eye-witness documentary Remember Belsen features interviews with Alan and five Jewish survivors, a war cameraman and extensive footage shot at the time of the camp's liberation. Among the British liberating troops: actor Dirk Bogarde and Goons comedian Michael Bentine. The documentary includes footage deemed too shocking for public release by British and American authorities and locked away in a vault for 40 years.
In total, 50,000 persons died at Bergen-Belsen, including WW2 diarist Anne Frank and her sister Margot. Most of the victims were Jews. Frank's film reflects on the experiences of camp inmates to convey the full horror of the Holocaust. As a counterpoint, there is a reunion between war artist Alan Moore and two Jewish survivors Helen Schoen and Olga Horak many decades later.
To mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen, a special screening of Remember Belsen will be held at the Ritz Cinemas in Randwick on Wednesday, 25 June 2025 at 6 pm.
The documentary is a timely reminder of why Bergen-Belsen became a byword for evil. Trailer: https://youtu.be/oCGEMIWCPqo Ticketing: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/remember-belsen-qa-documentary-screening-tickets-1391256328129?aff=oddtdtcreator.
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