The Relief of Belsen

I remember when I was in hospital there was A 94-year-old gentleman who had served in the Second World War. I was very interested to know what He did during the conflict. He had served In North Africa, the Italian campaign including Many of the of the horrific battles of that campaign. He was also amongst the first troops to enter Belson concentration camp. As with most soldiers that fought in both world Wars, They are very reluctant to talk about what they went through. One thing I do remember was during the night he would wake up screaming. I said are you okay "He said sorry son I still have nightmares about Belsen". This more then anything I knew about concentration camps bought home the horrors of these camps. 70 years on he was still having nightmares about what he witnessed.

The relief of Belsen tells the story of the desperate attempts by the British medics to save as many lives as they could, at times it was a losing battle, such was the malnutrition and typhus that had spread through the camp.

The Doctors and medics who managed to save hundreds of lives with limited supplies are the unsung heroes of WW2 and this film is a fitting tribute to them, rather than the unbelievable cruelty of the Nazis.

My father was one of those British men that first entered belsen and never after the war could he find the courage to talk about it. I am so very proud of him. Along with the other soldiers who where with him. He served at the front line then was commissioned to undertake the release and care of the captives in the camp.I believe the smells of rotting corpses and the degrading conditions that the prisoners had to endure lived with my father for the rest of his life. He kept this to himself because he did not want to relive the horrors. I would like very much to thank the people involved in the making of this film, and on behalf of my father thank you.

This is a superb movie which does not seem to have been properly recognised. The eightieth anniversary of the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp has been recently commemorated, but there is a more important story to tell which is described in this movie - the relief efforts for the prisoners found there. It is hard to find suitable words to describe the challenges faced by the British Army medical (and other) personnel tasked with managing the camp, who had to deal with tens of thousands of starving and sick people. People so starved that their systems could not cope with 'normal' food, and with typhus and other diseases raging through the camps.

The story is told with care. It is well-scripted, well-acted and well-filmed, the film interspersed with archive footage showing the true state of the camps: emaciated prisoners, corpses lying around everywhere. The medics, who had been conscripted and trained to support frontline troops found themselves trying to pick up what the bestial Germans had left behind. This is an emotional film and it presents the humanity of those involved as they fought a new war - to save the lives of as many of the inmates as they possibly could. It is incredibly well done.

Very highly recommended.

The true filmed history of the liberation of the German concentration camp Bergen-Belsen in 1945, dramatized with good acting. We follow the last 23 days of the World War II, and the struggle to keep people alive from the horrid of the German empire.

Even after the liberation of the camp containing tens of thousands of prisoners in the two twin camps, the people are dying from famine and typhus, and shrunken inner organs after years in starvation.

Gripping and compelling, but it takes time before the story really takes a hold on you. It might be the lack of budget, making this some kind of a part time documentary.

The use of hand held cameras adds to the reality, though it's obvious that the film crew has tried to make the best out of their budget, they rather try to show the reaction and the faces of the nurses and soldiers, than the misery.

The scenes of misery is real footage and filming made in 1945, quite good blended in with a history telling voice. This form demands us to get into this way of storytelling, and succeeds after a while. Then you start feeling the despair and disbelief of efforts not working, until it suddenly does, while looking worse than ever.

Well done on an obviously too small budget. A compelling storytelling of some of the worst episodes in human history.

Life and reality seems on a different planet, and is told so when a military chief gives the message while looking in at the sick-beds. "By the way. Apparently, they say the war is over!"

I recall my father telling me a long time ago about his experiences at Belsen. It had such a profound effect on him that he only ever spoke once about it and not even once to my two sisters. From his descriptions, the movie is an accurate representation of the events. The army team involved were true hero's who saved hundreds. This should be compulsory viewing for the schools curriculum as it demonstrates both the depravity of human beings to others and conversely, their humanity. Having visited the site in the 80's I recall the oppressive atmosphere felt in the region, and this was before I was aware of the dreadful events that had taken place there.