Belsen (Bergen)
Encyclopedia
Belsen is a village within the German borough of Bergen in the northern part of Celle district on the Lüneburg Heath
in Lower Saxony
. It lies about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) southwest of Bergen and has 331 inhabitants (as at: 31 December 2000). The Belsen concentration camp was named after it. Today Belsen is dominated by the British Army camp of Hohne (German: Lager Hohne) on the edge of Bergen-Hohne Training Area
.
was located near Belsen. The site of the former concentration camp and the present day Bergen-Belsen Memorial Centre fall mainly within the municipality of Winsen (Aller)
and its parish of Walle (Winsen)
. Between Bergen and Belsen, there were railway ramps onto which prisoners from the incoming goods wagons alighted and from where they had to cover the remaining distance of about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the camp on foot. The original ramps have been replaced and the current ones are used today to off-load military vehicles of the British, Dutch, French, German, Belgian, Luxembourg and Polish forces in order to take part in exercises on the NATO military training area of Bergen-Hohne.
administrative reforms of 1971, Belsen has been part of the borough of Bergen. Belsen is represented by a local council (Ortsrat) and a chairman (Ortsbürgermeister). The council is empowered, inter alia, to make decisions about public services in the village, is responsible for maintaining the appearance of the village and for overseeing its clubs and societies, and has to be consulted by the town of Bergen on all important matters affecting the village. It consists of five elected representatives who, together with the chairman, sit on the Bergen town council. The village council elects its own chairman. The current incumbent is Sven Marquardt.
Lüneburg Heath
The Lüneburg Heath is a large area of heath, geest and woodland in northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover, and Bremen and is named after the town of Lüneburg. Most of the area is a nature reserve...
in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
. It lies about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) southwest of Bergen and has 331 inhabitants (as at: 31 December 2000). The Belsen concentration camp was named after it. Today Belsen is dominated by the British Army camp of Hohne (German: Lager Hohne) on the edge of Bergen-Hohne Training Area
Bergen-Hohne Training Area
Bergen-Hohne Training Area is a NATO military training area in the southern part of the Lüneburg Heath, in the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It covers an area of , which makes it the largest military training area in Germany.It was established by the German armed forces, the...
.
History
Belsen was first mentioned in the records in 1235 under the name Bellenhusen. Since the district reforms of the early 1970s it has fallen administratively under the town of Bergen.Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
The Bergen-Belsen concentration campBergen-Belsen concentration camp
Bergen-Belsen was a Nazi concentration camp in Lower Saxony in northwestern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle...
was located near Belsen. The site of the former concentration camp and the present day Bergen-Belsen Memorial Centre fall mainly within the municipality of Winsen (Aller)
Winsen (Aller)
Winsen an der Aller or Winsen is a town in the district of Celle in the German state of Lower Saxony.-Geography:Winsen has around 12,900 inhabitants and lies on the southern perimeter of the Lüneburg Heath, on the banks of the Aller, somewhat to the west of its tributary, the Örtze and about...
and its parish of Walle (Winsen)
Walle (Winsen)
Walle is a village within the Lower Saxon borough of Winsen in Celle district on the Lüneburg Heath in Germany.Walle lies on a country road between Winsen and Bergen on the southern perimeter of the Lüneburg Heath in Lower Saxony. A forest lane gives it access to the B3 federal road between Celle...
. Between Bergen and Belsen, there were railway ramps onto which prisoners from the incoming goods wagons alighted and from where they had to cover the remaining distance of about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the camp on foot. The original ramps have been replaced and the current ones are used today to off-load military vehicles of the British, Dutch, French, German, Belgian, Luxembourg and Polish forces in order to take part in exercises on the NATO military training area of Bergen-Hohne.
Politics and Administration
Since the merging of local councils as part of the Lower SaxonLower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
administrative reforms of 1971, Belsen has been part of the borough of Bergen. Belsen is represented by a local council (Ortsrat) and a chairman (Ortsbürgermeister). The council is empowered, inter alia, to make decisions about public services in the village, is responsible for maintaining the appearance of the village and for overseeing its clubs and societies, and has to be consulted by the town of Bergen on all important matters affecting the village. It consists of five elected representatives who, together with the chairman, sit on the Bergen town council. The village council elects its own chairman. The current incumbent is Sven Marquardt.
Literature
- Friedrich Barenscheer u.a., Bauernbuch, o.J. (about 1935). In the Bergen Town Archives (Stadtarchiv Bergen)
- Quellensammlung zur Ortsgeschichte Belsen, In the Bergen Town Archives
- Lehnsbriefe über Belehnung der Mühle Belsen, (from 1554), In the Bergen Town Archives
External links
- Information about Belsen
- :de:Arbeitsgemeinschaft Bergen-Belsen, The Bergen-Belsen Society