1 “AN EXAMPLE OF NAZI KULTUR”: PARADIGMATIC AND CONTESTED MATERIALITY AT BERGEN-BELSEN CONCENTRATION CAMP Caroline Sturdy Colls¹ and William Mitchell² ¹ Professor of Conflict Archaeology and Genocide Investigation, Centre of Archaeology, Flaxman Building, College Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST4 2DE, c.sturdy- colls@staffs.ac.uk ² Project Archaeologist, Centre of Archaeology, Flaxman Building, College Road, Stoke-on- Trent, Staffordshire, ST4 2DE, william.mitchell@staffs.ac.uk Caroline Sturdy Colls is a Professor in Conflict Archaeology and Genocide Investigation and Director of the Centre of Archaeology at Staffordshire University. Her research primarily focuses on the application of interdisciplinary approaches to the investigation of Holocaust landscapes and 20 th century mass violence. Her monographs include Adolf Island (2020, forthcoming, with Kevin Colls), Holocaust Archaeologies: Approaches and Future Directions (2015), the Handbook of Missing Persons (2016, edited with Steven Morewitz) and Forensic Approaches to Buried Remains (2013, co-authored with John Hunter and Barrie Simpson). In 2016, Caroline received the European Archaeological Heritage Prize for her contribution to modern conflict archaeology. William Mitchell is the Project Archaeologist for the Centre of Archaeology at Staffordshire University. He has over 15 years of experience in development-led and research-centred archaeological projects and has undertaken archaeological projects at Holocaust sites across Europe. He publishes on a wide range of topics including William Shakespeare’s New Place: investing in, or inheriting a legacy? (2019, Post Medieval Archaeology), An evaluation of community-led archaeology projects funded through the Heritage Lottery Fund: Two Case Studies. (2019, Journal of Community Archaeology and Heritage) and Finding Shakespeare’s New Place: An Archaeological Biography (2016, co-authored with Paul Edmonson and Kevin Colls). ABSTRACT Since it was liberated on the 15 th April 1945 and images broadcast around the world, Bergen- Belsen has been synonymous with the cruelty of the Nazi concentration camp system. Although the history of the camp is well documented, less attention has been paid to what happened to the bodies of almost half of the 53,000 victims who died there and to the materiality of the camp landscape. This paper outlines the results of historical and non-invasive archaeological investigations aimed at locating unmarked graves and camp structures, as well as how they aligned and conflicted with established narratives. The ethical challenges involved in these investigations – as well as the contestation that surrounds the issue of unmarked burials – are also discussed.