Footage of Holocaust miracle rescue unearthed for the first time

An iconic event from April 1945, never thought to have been captured on film, has been discovered in the US National Archives. Historian Guy Walters takes us through the three minutes of extraordinary, powerful footage

The face of a young survivor. Behind him stands the train on which he has been incarcerated for the past week, along with some 2,500 of his fellow Jews (US National Archives)

A young boy, no more than five, looks straight into the camera. He is wearing a cap, a collared shirt and a jacket, all of which would have once looked smart, but are now tatty. His face is thin, his eyes very dark and somewhat sunken. The boy’s gaze is direct, his expression a mixture of distrust, toughness, and curiosity, but above all, it speaks of having endured and seen things that no child – or adult – should ever have to see.

Behind him is the train on which he has been incarcerated for the past week, along with some 2,500 of his fellow Jews. It had left from the concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen on 7 April 1945, its destination the camp some 260 miles southeast at Theresienstadt. Unlike most concentration camp prisoners, none are wearing the distinctive striped uniform, and all are in normal clothes. Many are sitting on the banks of a small cutting on what looks like a fine spring day, although the presence of a few fires suggests the air is anything but warm.