Video: 'Wöbbelin Concentration Camp, Ludwigslust, Germany, 05/05/1945 (full)'

(Wednesday, May 2, 1945; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — The Wöbbelin concentration camp, a subcamp of the Neuengamme concentration camp near the city of Ludwigslust, Germany, was liberated today by American forces.

Wöbbelin was established in early February 1945 to house concentration camp prisoners whom the SS had evacuated from other camps to prevent their liberation by the Allies.

Living conditions in the camp when the U.S. 8th Infantry and the 82nd Airborne arrived were deplorable. There was little food or water and some prisoners had resorted to cannibalism. When the units arrived, they found about 1,000 inmates dead in the camp.

Video: 'Memory of the Camps 1985 PL hardsubs DVBRip' (May 2, 1945, at 48:29)