Negative: Alan Moore

A large group of corpses, among 10 000 others, lie strewn in the grounds of Belsen. Broken by disease, starvation and maltreatment, these emaciated inmates had died before British troops finally liberated the concentration camp on 15 April 1945 in the closing days of the European War and of the Third Reich itself. It was left to soldiers of the Welsh Guards to arrange for their burial using their SS (Schutzstaffel) guards who became prisoners themselves. This representative figure would form part of an awful toll which collectively became known as the genocide against Jewish and others subjugated by Nazi Germany during their 'Final Solution'. Photographer, VX93880 Lieutenant (Lt) Alan Moore, Australian official war artist, was present with the Allies in the liberation of Belsen. Whilst at Belsen, Lt Moore made several paintings, sketches and drawings as a record of Nazi atrocities committed against the predominantly Jewish inmates. A personal camera was used to record events observed in the Allied occupation of the camp and these black and white images also provide witness to one Australian's experience of the Holocaust. A copy negative of this image is held in the collection under the accession number P03007.013.