In April 1945, the Canadian 2nd Division Army liberated 876 survivors from Camp Westerbork in the Netherlands which functioned as a transit camp for deportations of Dutch Jews to killing centres. Canadian soldiers were also among the first to enter the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany where they encountered 60,000 starving prisoners, 13,000 of whom died after liberation.
Watch this clip of testimony from Mervin Mirsky, a Jewish-Canadian liberator of the Canadian Armed Forces. Here he shares what he saw at Bergen-Belsen after its liberation.
About the Interviewee
Mervin Mirsky was born on May 16, 1914, in Ottawa, Ontario to Jewish immigrants from Russia. As a Canadian Jew, Mervin left law school to enlist in the Canadian Army to serve his country. During wartime, his mission was to locate and destroy German guns and ammunition. Mervin was interviewed by the USC Shoah Foundation on February 22, 1998, in Ottawa, Ontario.