Age Guidance: 16+

Born to Jewish parents in London in 1920, Leonard Berney joined the army immediately after school and was appointed an officer aged 18. Several years later, he was one of the first Allied troops through the gates of the disease-ridden, overcrowded Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, where he came face-to-face with its many horrors. He remained there for 14 weeks, helping save as many lives as possible, and becoming the Commander of the Belsen Displaced Persons Camp. After the war, Leonard became a successful businessman running the UK’s largest clothing factory and his haute couture dress company. The talk, given by Leonard’s son John Wood, includes a detailed personal account of the camp’s liberation with video testimony by both Leonard and Belsen survivors and many historical and individual photographs. It emphasises the importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was drawn up in response to the Holocaust, and it gives hope that future atrocities can be prevented through human rights education.

Please book your free seat in advance to avoid disappointment. Feel free to stay and watch a free film afterwards in the same accessible space.

Warning: some images in the presentation show images of death/war.

Length: 1 hour.