"The sights and above all the stench of those early days I shall most certainly never forget, it's marvellous what one can survive."
My father used to tell me of a letter he’d received from his Aunt Vivian who worked as part of the relief effort at Belsen concentration camp in April 1945.
After he died eight years ago I found it in his papers. Each time I read it I am touched at how she tried to convey some of the horror but safely to the 8 year old boy he was at the time.
Transcript:
Sunday
How are you? I have been meaning to write for ages but as usual both time and energy have been lacking. Life our here as settled down after the first quite awfull work, and though I am still extremely busy things are of course quite different.
When we first arrived here, three days or rather four days after the troops came, we were all put on the wards as there was practically no nursing personel at all and even I was put in charge of one of the "blocks" which is a house holding about 150 people. The whole place where and D.P.s are house is the old training school of the Panzier [Panzer] Grenadiers and is a kind of miniature Aldershot being mostly laid out in squares of blocks consisting of four blocks and a canteen. The sights and above all the stench of those early days I shall most certainly never forget, it's marvellous what one can survive. Later on when the army sent up some more nursing and medical personel, I was taken off the wards and gradually started to build up the clothing side which is now a very big affair as we clothe at least four hundred a day. The store which is known as "Harrods" is in an old stable as it was the only place available and actually it fits in very well. We are one of the sights of Belson and get a lot of unsolicited visitors. I must say it does seem now that the whole frightfullness of the first weeks must have been a frightfull nightmare, now life has really become nearly normal, the people have pulled up in the most incredible manner, they now no longer walk about like Indians dressed in grey blankets. The awfull strench and sickly sweet smell of Typhus had departed and, thanks to Harrods, they now walk about really very reasonably dressed. They get extremely good food far better than we do, and are all getting very fat. I must say I never dreamed that I should find myself in charge of the clothing of the entire camp. However its fun building something up oneself.
I actually did some singing the other day at a party at the Officers club, and considering the little time there was to do any work, the whole thing went off very credible. Life had become quite social, in fact at one time there always seemed to be a couple of parties every evening. Now however things have eased off a bit as a lot of our friends have been moved on in the well known army manner, and so far I do not seem to have made much contact with the new ones, however I bear up well and am hoping for some mild riding of an evening before things get started up again. The weather has been unspeakable, wet and cold, though this evening it does look a bit more like clearing up.
I do not know how long we are going to stay here but am hoping that we may find new pastures in the not too far distant future, it would be nice to have a change and possibly get a bit further south.
How's yourself & Winchester & all? How's [unclear]? I hope she got my letter but fear it may have strayed as I have not heard from her - posts are not always [unclear]. The [unclear] that go out here is terrible, especially at Harrods so am thinking of applying for the job of a store detective after the war. Saw the first cezch repatriation train off today & it was very moving in a way, went off all decked in flowers with an [unclear] engine which I am sure flew up in the first few miles.
Best of love & write some time
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