The Bergen-Belsen Memorial is repeatedly confronted with the question of where the people who died in the concentration camp were buried. One reason for this inquiry from visitors is that the total number of victims is estimated to be around 52,000, but the inscriptions on the mass graves mention “only” 23,200. This difference raises questions: When and where were the victims of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp buried between 1943 and 1945 (even after the liberation), and where do their remains lie today?
With the goal of clarifying this question using historiographical methods, in 2015 the Lower Saxony Memorials Foundation commissioned a systematic evaluation of all available sources regarding the number and burial sites of the victims of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
This research has focused not only on the people who died in Bergen-Belsen, but also on the prisoners who died during the evacuation transports to and from the concentration camp.
The initial findings from this study are available as Interim report (PDF)
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