the british military authorities ordered the construction of a permanent memorial in september 1945 after having been lambasted by the press for the desolate state of the camp. in the summer of 1946, a commission presented the design plan, which included the obelisk and memorial walls. the memorial was finally inaugurated in a large ceremony in november 1952, with the participation of germany's president theodor heuss, who called on the germans never to forget what had happened at belsen.