Belvedere Commemorates Belsen

A special ceremony to mark the liberation of Belsen concentration camp sixty years ago to the day, will take place in Belvedere College, Dublin with Belsen survivors in attendance.

Belsen survivors Suzi Diamond , Zoltan-Zinn  Collins and Tomi Reichental will share of their  experiences in the camp and writer , Jennifer Johnson will read an article from the time by her father. Noel Cooper will also remember his father  the Rev. Gough Cooper of Malahide the Anglican Chaplain with the 88th Battalion who liberated Blesen. Senator David Norris  will be among those lighting six candles to mark the different  victims of Nazism.

 Fr Michael Morrison, a Jesuit from Belvedere was the Catholic Chaplain with the liberating troops and his story will be told by history student William Peat.

“The first hand accounts of Fr Morrisson’s experience  makes for harrowing reading” says William Peat. “ He met two  Jesuits in the camp who died shortly afterwards as did many more of the 60,000 prisoners that they found there in a terrible  state.”

Film footage of Fr. Morrison praying over a mass grave in Belsen those sixty years ago will also be shown.

Cellist Donal Wallace will accompany the candle lighting ceremony and the staff and students of Belvedere College  have prepared poetry  and prose readings from Primo Levi and other authors.