I am writing a short story about it, and I need to know a few details. Would the SS soldiers who remained and buried the dead have had their weapons taken from them by the British? Also, would it have been at all believable for a British soldier or two to be secretly somewhat civil to some of the Germans and share cigarettes with them, etc. on the sly? And how long did the British troops (I believe the 11th armored division) stay after they arrived on 4-15? I think evacuation began 4-21 (?)

Thanks!!

Yes, the British would have taken the weapons away from the Germans. It is not believable that a Brit soldier would be civil to a Nazi. I don't believe it for a minute. The Germans were in Britain's fields and cities, doing their level best to destroy and conquer. Why would any Brit solider be civil? I would think they would do their job and that would be the extent of it.

The evacuation begans before May 21st. By May 19th all the prisoners had been evacuated. On May 21st, 1945, the last hut in the camp was burned to the ground.

Here is a very good accounting of Bergen-Belsen:
The liberation of Bergen-Belsen April 15, 1945

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by marcigsd

I am writing a short story about it, and I need to know a few details. Would the SS soldiers who remained and buried the dead have had their weapons taken from them by the British? Also, would it have been at all believable for a British soldier or two to be secretly somewhat civil to some of the Germans and share cigarettes with them, etc. on the sly? And how long did the British troops (I believe the 11th armored division) stay after they arrived on 4-15? I think evacuation began 4-21 (?)

Thanks!!!

---

The British had never been civil to the German… so why would we expect them to do so now?