Letters from Liberation:

Commemorating the Liberation of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp

Online Talk and Live Q&A with Dr Myfanwy Lloyd

Available Now (First Streamed Live: 7pm, 14th April 2022)

Commemorating the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, 15th April 1945.

Join Dr Myfanwy Lloyd to find out how Oxfordshire Yeomanry soldier Arthur Tyler met Polish Holocaust survivor Naomi Kaplan at the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, and how that meeting changed both their lives.

Arthur Tyler was a Lance-Bombardier with the 63rd Anti-Tank Regiment (Oxfordshire Yeomanry), when his unit took over Bergen-Belsen concentration camp on 15th April 1945. None of the soldiers could have expected the horrors they witnessed in the camp. Filled with anger and revulsion at the actions of the Nazis, the Oxfordshire Yeomanry men helped survivors as best they could.

Arthur collected from the liberated the addresses of relatives and offered to write to them, a gesture of kindness that would have a huge impact.

This historical research also raises issues for our own times. What can this story tell us about the ongoing battle against Holocaust denial? How can we use historical research to fight lies and distortions in our era of ‘fake news’?

Pieced together during the Covid-19 pandemic, the story of Naomi and Arthur highlights how kindness and integrity can have profound and lasting impacts.

With sincere thanks to the Kaplan/Warren family and the Holocaust Museum Houston for their ongoing support.

Watch the event free on the museum website, no ticket or registration required. Just watch the video below in your browser once it goes live (Google Chrome recommended).

Please consider making a donation online or by text. Your donations support the museum's work caring for its collections and events like these, sharing stories like Naomi and Arthur's.