Veteran remembers liberation of Nazi camp

Tuesday was the 60th anniversary of the day troops from Saskatchewan helped free a Nazi concentration camp in Holland.

The Estevan-based South Saskatchewan Regiment was among the Canadian troops which liberated Kamp Westerbork on April 12, 1945.

More than 100,000 people went through the gates of the transit camp before being transported to Auschwitz and other death camps. Most of them were Jews, although some were gypsies or members of the Dutch underground.

It ended on the afternoon of April 12, 1945, when units of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, including the South Saskatchewan Regiment, arrived and liberated 861 inmates.

"Almost every Jewish person who was taken in Holland went through that camp," said Cecil Law, 82, who was there that day as captain of a mortar platoon for the South Saskatchewan Regiment.

"We were very proud to be Canadians," said Law, who lives in Kingston, Ont.

Law has since been back to the site, where a memorial of more than 100,000 stones now sits.

"It's a very impressive memorial," he said.

A silent walk around the site and a memorial service were being held in Holland Tuesday to mark the anniversary.