As we all know, Nazi Germany brutally slaughtered Jews. Why did Barzen concentration camp in Belgen show "mercy" to Jews? All this has to start from the beginning.
Belgen Balzen concentration camp is located in northern Germany. At first, its infrastructure was not used as a concentration camp. 1935, the Germans built an armored training ground here and completed the construction of some living facilities. After the outbreak of World War II, it was converted into a prison camp, and the infrastructure began to expand, forming several large-scale prison camps. 1943 In April, the SS took over one of the prisoner-of-war camps numbered XI-C and changed it into a concentration camp, that is, the Balcen concentration camp in Belgen.
Himmler established this concentration camp for a different purpose from other extermination camps. Its main purpose is not for production or slaughter, but as a transit camp. The Jews transferred here are all valuable hostages in Himmler's eyes, which can be used to exchange or trade with Western allies. What's going on here?
In the middle and late World War II, German war resources were in short supply, especially foreign exchange reserves became increasingly tight. Himmler realized this problem, so he began to secretly contact with the West in private, hoping to exchange the detained Germans with the West by using Jews held in Germany with certain status or overseas relations, or to trade with the West on the condition of releasing certain Jews in order to obtain the strategic materials needed by Germany. These specific Jews became Himmler's bargaining chip with the West. They were screened out from other concentration camps and sent to Balcen concentration camp in Belgen, where they waited for the SS to reach an agreement with the West and leave Germany. This is the role of Barcen concentration camp in Belgen.
It is for this special reason that the Jewish hostages who were transferred to Balcen concentration camp in Belgen unexpectedly enjoyed the "humane" treatment of the Nazis. According to Jews of different nationalities, the SS divided the concentration camps into Hungarian camps, Polish camps and neutral camps, among which the neutral camps holding Jews of neutral nationality were the best. The SS changed its vicious and cruel behavior in the past and became "kind" and "polite", which was completely "humanized" management. Healthy Jews are arranged to engage in jobs with little labor intensity, and the elderly and children are relatively free. The group of people mentioned above are just reading books and chatting in the sun. There are also some Jews who come from other centralized operations. Because of their poor physical fitness, the "kind" Nazi SS actually arranged for them to go to the hospital for treatment and training. Because these Jews are ready to be released from Germany, Himmler does not want to appear in front of the western media as a skinny Jew, which will damage Germany's "international image" and make these hostages look nutritious and radiant. It is a necessary decoration, so the food in the whole camp is also good, at least ensuring the basic nutritional intake.
From the spring of 1943 to the autumn of 1944, about15,000 Jews were transferred to Balzen concentration camp in Belgen, of which about 2,500 were released and left Germany. However, since the autumn of 1944, with the defeat of the German army, many concentration camps in the eastern occupied areas were abolished, and a large number of Jews were transferred to the west, and a large number of Jews were transferred to the concentration camp in Balcen, Belgen. The trade with the west was forced to stop, and the Jews who had been imprisoned were no longer of use value, so the good days here came to an end and soon became a hell on earth.
Balcen concentration camp in Belgen can accommodate more than 1 10,000 people, but from the autumn of' 44 to the beginning of' 45, 40,000-50,000 people were transferred here, bringing the population of the whole concentration camp to about 60,000. The SS threw the transferred Jews into Balcen, Belgen, leaving them alone. As a result, most Jews have no house to live in, so they can only sleep in the cold soil, regardless of the wind and rain. The supply of food and medicine is so scarce that it is impossible to meet the needs of so many people. Typhus quickly spread throughout the camp, and many people starved to death or died of illness every day. When the SS found the food thieves, they were immediately executed and a large number of people were shot.
Kramer, the commander of the camp, reported to his boss in March that there was a serious shortage of food and medicine, and 300-500 people died every day. With so many people dead, of course, the SS won't bury them themselves, but will only order slightly better Jews to carry and bury the bodies, and the mass graves on the edge of the concentration camp are almost filled. In the later period, the physical condition of the Jews became worse and worse, and there were almost no people who could work, so the SS piled the bodies everywhere. The camp is full of garbage, feces, stinking, and people lying everywhere. No one knows or cares about their lives. Rats are eating dead bodies or dying people.
A reporter who followed the British army into the concentration camp described the tragic situation in the concentration camp like this: "On an acre of land in Fiona Fang, there are dead or dying people everywhere, and you can't see the shape of anyone else at all. The head of the living rests on the dead, surrounded by the walking dead, weak, bony and numb, with no trace of life on his face. Little creatures born here can't survive at all. A mother screamed and cried frantically at the British sentry, fed the baby milk, and maggots covered the baby's little hands, then left the baby and ran away. The sentry went over and opened the child's bag and found that the child had been dead for several days ... This day in Balcen was the most terrible day I have ever experienced in my life. "
Until April 15, 1945, when the British liberated Balcen concentration camp in Belgen, about 30,000 people died here. The British army urgently dispatched food and medicine to resettle the rescued Jews. However, due to illness and severe malnutrition, about 14000 people died after being rescued.
The Balcen concentration camp in Belgen is just an illusion deliberately created by Nazi Germany to deceive Jews in order to gain some benefits. It is definitely not the "kindness" discovered by Nazi conscience, and it can't cover up the crimes against humanity of Nazi genocide. This is its historical truth.
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