the area of the former bergen-belsen camp fell into neglect after the burning of the buildings and the closure of the nearby displaced persons' camp in the summer of 1950. the area reverted to heath; few traces of the camp remained. however, as early as may 1945, the british had erected large signs at the former camp site. ex-prisoners began to set up monuments. a first wooden memorial was built by jewish dps in september 1945, followed by one made in stone, dedicated on the first anniversary of the liberation in 1946. on november 2, 1945, a large wooden cross was dedicated as a memorial to the murdered polish prisoners. also by the end of 1945 the soviets had built a memorial at the entrance to the pow cemetery. a memorial to the italian pows followed in 1950, but was removed when the bodies were reinterred in a hamburg cemetery.