The POW Hospital Street

here for an enlarged version

Along this semi-circular street, and on some of the adjoining streets, stood buildings originally used as hospitals for Soviet POWs. The information given by the museum sign (see below) doesn't specifically mention how many there were, but indicates that there were several. From Jan 1945, these buildings were used to house the thousands of prisoners evacuated from the General Gouvnerment and East Germany, territory which the Soviets were likely to, and did, overrun. 

A = Fire Water Reservoir (A)
B = Hospital for Soviet POWs
C = Hospital for Soviet POWs
D = Camp Road, paved with guttering

Many of the museum signs dotted around Bergen-Belsen which feature old photographs, are placed approximately where the photographer would have stood when they took the photograph. So one part of the Nazi run hospital for Soviet POWs stood on the clearing just visible, behind the sign (on the right-hand-side of the road), and indicated by the "B" on the above aerial view.

Enlargement of photo and text on above sign.

 This photo was taken looking North-East. On the right of the sign stood part of the Soviet POW hospital,

later occupied by prisoners evacuated from the East (indicated by the "C" on the above aerial photo).

Enlargement of photo and text of the above sign.

 This photo is of the section marked "C" above. It was taken whilst I stood in the clearing's south-eat corner, and facing north-west.

 This and the photos below are part of the circular road. You can still see the paving in parts, and the gutters on each side. 

As road was on a slight slope (downwards from north to south) the waste would be carried away from the hospital buildings.

 Looking north-west, whilst standing on the east-side (end) of the circular road.

 Looking north-east, whilst standing on the west-side (centre) of the circular road.

Looking north, whilst standing on the west-side (end) of the circular road.

This photo was taken at the position and direction indicated on the aerial photo below. In the bottom right hand corner of this photo you can see the road's guttering, it would have carried waste to this area. In the centre of the photo you can see a concrete slab, which obviously covers some sort of access to a tunnel which would have taken the waste further away from this area, but where I don't know.