Queen to visit Bergen-Belsen during state visit to Germany
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh are to visit to the site of the Bergen-Belsen death camp.
Her Majesty will make the visit at the end of June, during her state visit to Germany. It is the first time she will visit a concentration camp site.
Bergen-Belsen – where homosexuals was interned by the Nazis along with a number of other minority groups – was liberated by British troops 1945. Gay prisoners were not set free at the end of the Second World War, unlike other groups, and were made to serve out their sentences.
The chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, Karen Pollock, said: “Having recently marked 70 years since British armed forces liberated Bergen Belsen, it is fitting that Her Majesty will pay her respects at this site in this significant year.
“Her Majesty’s visit will mean a huge amount to those survivors and liberators still with us – and of course to all of us dedicated to keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive.”
The Queen and her husband will also visit memorials to pay tribute to those who died at the camp, including Anne Frank.
She will meet with survivors, and representatives of Jewish and Christian communities.
Writing for PinkNews on Holocaust Memorial Day in January Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to all those who were persecuted by the Nazis, including gay people.
