When I arrived in Germany in 1951. I had not been there more than four days before we were told that all four squadrons were being taken in a convoy to Bergen-Belsen. We had heard of it, but not that many!
The sight we saw was actually memorials and the remnants of the camp and a field, a not very large one which had a small post with a simple piece of wood on which was enscribed "Here lie 1000 bodies."
On a larger monument, atop of which was the star of David, which said "Here lie the bodies of 30,000 Jews exterminated by the murderous Nazis. Earth shall not conceal the blood shed on thee." There were other words which I cannot remember. Probably because these were the ones etched in my mind to this day and forever.
For these young soldiers it was a time of shock, real shock, and we went back to camp in some distress. That lasted quite a while for me and still does.
Mans inhumanity to man has never changed these thousands of years. I guess it never will.