Skip to main content
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp

8.6
A place like a prison in northwest Germany where Nazis held and killed many Jewish people during World War II
  • proper noun
  • NSFW
translation icon : campo de concentración de Bergen-Belsen
  • Many survivors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp later shared testimonies of the horrors they endured.

Examples

  • Anne Frank died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp just weeks before it was liberated.

  • The British army liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in April 1945, revealing the extent of Nazi atrocities.

  • The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was liberated by British forces in April 1945.

  • Did you know about the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp?

  • The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was liberated by British troops in April 1945, revealing the horrors of the Holocaust.

  • Many survivors' harrowing stories were connected to their time spent in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp during World War II.

  • The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp symbolizes the atrocities committed during the Nazi regime in Germany.

Synonyms

concentration camp
vsBergen-Belsen concentration camp
  • Offensive
49 5.6

A place where many people are imprisoned without trial in harsh, crowded conditions

is a single historical location used for Jewish imprisonment in WWII
death camp
vsBergen-Belsen concentration camp
  • NSFW
16 8.4

A prison camp where people are kept and killed, often used by Nazi Germany in World War II

is a Nazi site for Jewish imprisonment not defined by systematic killing
Belsen
vsBergen-Belsen concentration camp
  • NSFW
4 9.9

A Nazi camp in northwestern Germany during World War II where many prisoners suffered and died

has identical meaning but is the more formal full place name

Surface Forms

Morphology

Bergen-Belsen + concentration + camp

The noun phrase is partly compositional: a B1 learner who knows 'concentration' (high density) and 'camp' (a site where people stay) can infer this is a camp where people are gathered or held, and 'Bergen-Belsen' functions as a place name. However, the crucial historical sense—forced internment by the Nazis and the associated atrocities—is not predictable from the literal constituents alone, so the expression carries additional, non-transparent historical/connotative information.

Etymology

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp takes its name from two nearby villages, Bergen and Belsen, whose names were joined to 'name' the site. Today the name stands for the Nazi camp where many people were held and died during World War II, so it brings to mind that terrible history.