"When all was ready I came in and seated myself all alone opposite two Germans. After issuing my orders for the surrender I finished with these words. 'These orders must be obeyed scrupulously. I warn you we shall have no mercy if they are not. Having seen one of your horror camps my whole attitude towards Germany has changed.' The chief of staff jumped up and said, 'The army had nothing to do with those camps.' 'Sit down,' I replied, 'there were German soldiers on sentry duty outside and you cannot escape responsibility. The world will never forgive Germany for those camps.'"
Lt.Gen.Sir B. Horrocks, O/C British troops who liberated Sandbostel Camp

Shocked by the conditions in the camp and furious because of the losses in the fights for it, the Brits wanted to burn down some villages in the surroundings. Only with difficulties, Chaplain Baden from Selsingen could prevent this.
To relieve the freed prisoners‘ most urgent needs, men and women from the neighbouring villages were forced to work in the camp. They had to care for the ill, clean out the huts, bury the dead etc.. For many prisoners, this help came too late, many died after the liberation. Here follow quotations from Elfie Walter‘s(at that time 17 years old) diary:

How can we apologize for this?
1.5.: The English had to have helpers and nursing staff as fast as possible, so they had the idea to enlist school girls. That’s how we came to this place. And tomorrow we’ll have to wash and clean prisoners!
(...) We now knew, that terrible things lie ahead for us.(...)
2.5.: At 5 o’clock, we were wakened by the French. In the early hours, I was able to sleep a little bit. During the night, I had to think of all those horriblities. Nobody at home will believe, what we report. I always had to think, how we loved and revered the Führer: Everything he told us was a lie! What was this, the Nationalsocialism? We always thought, something beautiful and honorable. Why was everything so cruel? Why do they murder innocent people who are so helpless? One can’t treat one’s enemies this way. That’s incredible.“
More Quotations from the Diary of Elfie Walter