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Did You Know?

Bethulie concentration camp was one of the largest camps established by the British during the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902). It was located near the town of Bethulie in the present-day Free State province, on the southern bank of the Orange River. The camp was opened in early 1901 and held Boer civilians, primarily women, children, and elderly men, who had been forcibly removed from their farms under the British 'scorched earth' policy. By late 1901, the camp's population exceeded 4,000 inmates, making it one of the most overcrowded camps in the Orange River Colony. Conditions were severe, with inadequate shelter, poor sanitation, and a shortage of clean water, leading to outbreaks of measles, typhoid, and dysentery. The camp's mortality rate was exceptionally high; over 700 people, mostly children, died there, and the dead were buried in a cemetery that remains a memorial site today. The camp was closed in 1902 after the Treaty of Vereeniging ended the war. The site now features a memorial and cemetery, and it is a provincial heritage resource managed by the Free State provincial government. The camp's history is part of the broader narrative of the approximately 45 concentration camps where more than 26,000 Boer women and children died, as well as thousands of Black Africans in separate camps.

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