
Opening The Gates of Hell: The untold story of Herbert Kenny, the man who discovered Belsen
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781788404860
Publication Date: 07/15/2025
Herbert Kenny, an army dispatch rider, was the first ally to push open the gates at Belsen Concentration Camp, in April 1945.
He kept his story from the world until a chance correspondence with a trainee journalist brought it to light. Now, forty years on, that reporter is ready to share Herbert's incredible tale with the world.
With unprecedented access to Herbert's diaries, letters and interviews, Mark Hodkinson brings to life the harrowing conditions of Bergen-Belsen and its eventual liberation. From the events leading up to its gruesome discovery, to the trauma Herbert faced and his abandonment in the aftermath, this is a testament to the power of one person in the face of unimaginable darkness.
This is the tale of an ordinary man thrown into an extraordinary, life-changing situation. How can a person cope when they come face-to-face with history's darkest moment? Herbert Kenny was that man. This is his story.
He kept his story from the world until a chance correspondence with a trainee journalist brought it to light. Now, forty years on, that reporter is ready to share Herbert's incredible tale with the world.
With unprecedented access to Herbert's diaries, letters and interviews, Mark Hodkinson brings to life the harrowing conditions of Bergen-Belsen and its eventual liberation. From the events leading up to its gruesome discovery, to the trauma Herbert faced and his abandonment in the aftermath, this is a testament to the power of one person in the face of unimaginable darkness.
This is the tale of an ordinary man thrown into an extraordinary, life-changing situation. How can a person cope when they come face-to-face with history's darkest moment? Herbert Kenny was that man. This is his story.
Choose options
New Releases
Pride and Pleasure: The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution
                
        Amanda Vaill
              
                  Hardcover
                
        Sale price$36.00 
Shattered Dreams, Infinite Hope: A Tragic Vision of the Civil Rights Movement
                
        Brandon M. Terry
              
                  Hardcover
                
        Sale price$35.00 
Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy
                
        Julia Ioffe
              
                  Hardcover
                
        Sale price$35.00 
















