Bergen Belsen

Established in 1940 as a Prisoner of War camp, Bergen Belsen became a complex of camps in 1943, including a concentration camp in addition to the POW component, and an Aufenthaltslager or holding camp for prisoners who could potentially be exchanged with the Allies for German citizens held in internment camps. Only 358 prisoners were ever officially exchanged. With the Allied advance many thousands of prisoners from other camps were collected at Belsen, including large transports of female prisoners. With evacuations from other camps, the population of prisoners swelled by 1945 to over 60,000. Conditions here were execrable, with limited or non-existent shelter, poor sanitation, food shortages and overcrowding. Typhus, typhoid fever, and dysentery were common. When the British liberated the camp on April 15, 1945, they found most of the living inhabitants to be extremely ill, many lying among the unburied bodies of those who had perished. And many - too ill and weakened to rally - died after liberation. Among the victims were Anne Frank and her sister Margot, who had perished just before the arrival of the British.

To prevent the further spread of typhus the British burned the camp to the ground. Out of the ashes Jewish survivors, unable to return to their former homelands, or legally emigrate to other countries, attempted to create a family and cultural life in Bergen-Belsen. Political, social, religious and cultural activities were organized. Many married within the camp, schools were founded to accommodate the extraordinary number of children born. Orphanages, schools, yeshivas, a newspaper, and vocational training were an integral part of camp life. In time, many of the surviving remnant of the Holocaust Jews were able to emigrate to Israel, the United States or Canada.

--Michael D. Bulmash, K1966

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Thank You Note from Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp

2012.1.202ab

Envelope with tape over back flap with handwritten address to Mr. Ostregel and purple stamp on the bottom from the "Senior Jewish Chaplain H.Q. British Army Of The Rhine.Letter: Typewritten letter in English signed by the Senior Jewish Chaplain.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Re-used forces envelope sent to Montreal, Canada with enclosed mimeographed thank you note for parcel received. Violet handstamp "Senior Jewish Chaplain/HQ British Army of the Rhine" (BAOR).
Letter by German-Jewish Inmate at Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp

2020.1.1

Letter with printed German text in red at top and handwritten text in blue ink below. Swastika stamp at bottom left of back page.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Letter sent by H. Guretzki (?), inmate number 4234, from Aufenthaltslager Bergen-Belsen on December 1, 1944. It is censored with a circular ink stamp verso and stamped with a directive to write letters in the German language. It is possible that the blacked-out areas conceal other camp stationery and that there was a shortage at Belsen. The Aufenthaltslager was a holding camp for prisoners who could potentially be exchanged with Allies for German internees. However, only 358 prisoners were exchanged, and the fate of the author of this letter is uncertain.

Belsen began its life as a POW camp but by 1943 became a large complex of camps. With the Allied advance, Belsen essentially became a dumping ground for prisoners - especially women - from other camps, the population swelling to more than 60,000 by 1945. Along with the overcrowding there was limited shelter, and food shortages, poor sanitation, and disease were rife. The living were found among the unburied dead when the British liberated the camp in April, 1945. Anne Frank and her sister Margot were among the many who perished here.
Nazi Hel Published by van Holkema and Warendorf in Amsterdam

2019.2.279

Black hard-board covered book, spiral bound with white text “Nazi Hel” and a swastika.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Nazi Hel is a first edition photo documentary of black-and-white photos taken by the Allies after the liberation of the concentration camps in 1945. Most of the photos were taken at Bergen-Belsen by the British army. Others were taken at Buchenwald, Mauthausen and Langenstein, and Schwabmuenchen. A two-page introduction is in Dutch, along with a map depicting the location of some of the larger concentration and labor camps. The final photograph is of a Dutch woman who belonged to the resistance, killed just one day before her home town of Deventer was liberated.
Communique Addressed to Colonel Paul A. Roy from Former Prisoners of the Now Liberated Camp Dachau

2021.1.35

Typewritten letter in English addressed to “Colonel Roy Coo. Camp Dachau” and signed and stamped by five organizations

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

The Dachau concentration camp, located ten miles from Munich was liberated on April 29, 1945 by the U.S. Seventh Army, 45th Infantry Division. Established in 1933, Dachau had been Nazi Germany’s longest running concentration camp, holding political prisoners, homosexuals, Roma and Sinti and Jehovah’s Witnesses as well as Jews. Under Commandant Theodor Eicke’s brutal administration, Dachau became the training center for SS guards and the model for all other concentration camps in the Third Reich.

In the waning days of the war, as the Allies were closing in on the Germans, Dachau became a depository of prisoners form other camps. Prisoners endured marches or were piled into freight trains, their ranks attenuated by starvation, exhaustion, and hypothermia. By the time the survivors arrived in Dachau, the overcrowding conduced to outbreaks of typhus. Just days before the Americans arrived, thousands of prisoners from Dachau’s main camp were forcibly evacuated on a death march southward to Tegernsee. When American forces finally arrived, they discovered railroad cards filled with decomposing bodies, and more than 30,000 starving survivors.

During the summer of 1945, Colonel Paul A. Roy became Allied commander of the liberated Dachau. In this communique of July 11, 1945 addressed to Colonel Roy, three months after liberation and just beginning the long road to recovery, the former prisoners are responding to receiving an order that they would be evacuated to other camps, an order that was met with swift anger and disbelief. Representatives of the various national groups of former prisoners importune Colonel Roy to understand their plight, to “enter our minds for a moment and think and feel with us?,,, It took much to live through the tyranny that was our lot…liberation was a disappointment. The barbed wires remain and the guard at the gate still plays an important role in our lives…And now we are on the move again. To another camp! And what then?... another stopping place on this dreadful road to freedom…It is the story of sudden movement, indifferent authorities, pleadings, interventions and disappointments…We refuse to move… we are tired and broken and are with little hope - we can not (sic) comply with this order. Give us our homes and we will gladly leave, until then give us a bit of peace.”

The document is signed by representatives of the various national “prisoners” groups: Hungarians, Romanians, Greeks, Poles, and other groups not organized by nationality and addresses.

Colonel Roy was in fact acutely sensitive to what these former prisoners had experienced at the hands of the Germans. He had written that they were “degraded and depressed and systematically starved”… were “suffering from deficiency diseases, tuberculosis, typhus”…”those charged with helping them had to have the utmost patience and understanding.”

Dachau may indeed have been liberated, but prisoners were still to be housed here for some months afterwards. The black typhus epidemic took a major toll on the population. Soon, however, prisoners would be moved to “displaced persons” camps in Germany, Austria, and Italy, or released. Dachau would be used to confine war criminals, and it would host the Dachau trials for prisoners - military and civilian - accused of war crimes.
Jewish New Years Card from Editorial Staff at Unzer Sztyme at Bergen Belsen Displaced Persons Camp

2012.1.200ab

Envelope: Small envelope with typewritten address to L. Hendler and Unzer Sztyme stamp on back flap.Card: Small card with printed message in Hebrew with Our Voice stamp.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

1946 Jewish New Years Card (Shanah Tovah) from the Editorial Staff of Unzer Sztyme (Our Voice) to Mr. L. Hendler, Montreal, Canada with red rectangular Displaced Persons Mail/PAID handstamp.
Jewish New Years Card from P. Trepmen at the Central Jewish Committee from Bergen-Belson Displaced Persons Camp

2012.1.201ab

Envelope: Small envelope with address handwritten in blue ink to L. Hendler and return address written on back flap.Card: Small card with text printed in Hebrew.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

1946 Jewish New Years Card (Shanah Tovah) from P. Trepmen, Central Jewish Committee, 619 Mil. Gov. Det., BAOR to L. Hendler, Montreal, Canada with red rectangular handstamp "Displaced Persons Mail/PAID."
Thank You Note from Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp

2012.1.194ab

Envelope: Brown envelope on Central Committee of Liberated Jews in the British Zone stationery, addressed to W. Ostreger.Letter: Central Jewish Committee Bergen-Belsen stationery with printed message and additions written in blue ink.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Form "thank you" note from Central Jewish Committee / Bergen-Belsen, J. Rozensaft, Chairman to Montreal, Canada, with circular violet "Displaced Persons Mail/Paid" hand stamp.
Wedding Invitation from Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp

2012.1.195ab

Envelope: Green envelope addressed to L. Hendler in black pen with return address on back flap.Letter: Printed note in Hebrew with geometric design.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A wedding invitation from Bergen-Belsen to L. Hendler, Montreal, Canada. The invitation reads, "We write to you to participate in our Wedding Ceremony on 3/28/1946 at 5pm in the Drama Studio Hall-Black 39, Room 5." Stampless cover, via military mail, with handwritten OAS (On Active Service). In Displaced Persons Camps, survivors were getting married virtually every day, and had one of the highest birth rates per capita in the world.
Thank You Note from Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp

2012.1.193ab

Envelope: Tan envelope with typewritten address to L. Hendler.Letter: Typewritten letter on Jewish Committee for Relief Abroad stationery.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A thank you letter from the Jewish Committee for Relief Abroad stationed in Bergen-Belsen with OAS stampless cover, canceled Field Post Office/504 (used only at Bergen-Belsen) and addressed to L. Hendler, Montreal, Canada.
Thank You Note from Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp

2012.1.196

Front: Typewritten message to Mrs. Berg on green paper. Signed by Ruth Cohen.Back: Addressed to Mrs. Berg on "On Active Service Letter Form."

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A thank you note from Ruth Cohen, "Jewish Relief Unit 110/618 Mil. Gov. Det./BAOR" located at Bergen-Belsen DP Camp, addressed to Montreal, Canada on NAAFI "On Active Service Letter Form."
Correspondence from Editorial Staff of Unzer Sztyme at Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp

2012.1.199ab

Envelope: Ripped envelope with typewritten address and return address to "Unzer Stime" (Our Voice).Letter: Typewritten letter in Hebrew on "Unzer Sztyme" (Our Voice) stationery.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

A note from the Editorial Staff of Unzer Sztyme (Our Voice) to I. Weinberg, Montreal, Canada with red rectangular handstamp Displaced Persons Mail/PAID.
Thank You Note from Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp

2012.1.203ab

Envelope: Tan envelope with handwritten address to Mrs. Naturman from the Central Jewish Committee.Letter: Printed letter from the Central Jewish Committee with additions written in blue ink.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Thank you note, mimeographed form with envelope addressed to Canada, with red rectangular "Displaced Persons Mail/PAID" handstamp. Return address "Central Jewish Committee c/o 618 Mil. Gov. Det., BAOR.
Envelope Addressed to the Jewish Lager Central Committee at Bergen-Belson Displaced Persons Camp

2012.1.205

Brown envelope with address written in green ink and return address written on back flap.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Envelope addressed to Bergen-Belsen/Jewish Lager Central Committee from Cyla Getsler, German DP Camp "Schwab-Hall" bei Stuttgart, UNRRA 512, USA Zone.
Thank You Note from Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp

2012.1.197

Front: A typewritten letter on grey paper addressed to Mrs. Sabatchnick and signed by Ruth Cohen.Back: Typewritten address to Mrs. R. Sabatchnick. Letter written on "On Active Service Letter Form." "

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

110 Jewish Relief Unit, British Army of the Rhine (British Occupation Force). A note of appreciation addressed to Mrs. Sabatchnick of Montreal, Canada, on December 3, 1946, thanking her for her relief parcel “on behalf of the recipients” in the Bergen-Belsen DP camp. She continues, “We are very much in need of this food, and it is being distributed immediately to people who have just been released from hospital, etc.” "
Postcard Looking for Feldman Brajndel at Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp

2012.1.204

Postcard addressed to the camp from Bala Feldman. Includes a message written in purple ink.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A German postcard sent to Bergen DP Camp/Jewish Committee looking for missing relative, Feldman Brajndel.
Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp After World War II

2012.1.180

Front: Children standing with an adult.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Kindergarten youth in Belsen DP camp, 1947. Text verso: "The youngsters from the Kindergarten are wondering...Belsen, Dec. 1947."
Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp After World War II

2012.1.181

Front: Men sitting at a table with Israeli flag on it.Back: Text in English and Hebrew and purple stamp.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Private photograph of an assembly taken at Bergen-Belsen DP camp in 1947.
Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp After World War II

2012.1.182

A woman swimming.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

A personal photograph taken June 2, 1947 of a woman at Bergen-Belsen DP camp doing recreational swimming, regaining her health and well-being while awaiting the next phase of her life.
Correspondence from Holocaust Survivor to United Nations

2015.2.188ab

Envelope front: Green envelope with address written in blue cursive ink. Upper lefthand corner has blue stamp with white letters, and a black circular hand stamp.Envelope back: Return address written on flap in blue cursive ink.Letter: Typewritten and copied letter on brown paper. Blanks filled in with blue cursive ink.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Moving letter with cover to Trygve Lie, Secretary General of the United Nations, from Holocaust survivor Chana Feinstejn, asking for help with emigration to Palestine.
Letter with Envelope from Holocaust Survivor, Fajga Burstyn, to Trygve Lie Pleading for Transit to Palestine

2019.2.243ab

a: envelope addressed “Mr. Trygve Lie Secretary General of the United Nations,” blue postage stamp in upper right corner. b: printed letter, three dashed lines filled in with writing near top, “To Mr. Trygve Lie, Secretary General of the United Nations, Lake Success,” printed in upper left corner, signed “Burstyn Fajga” in bottom right corner.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:Letter from Holocaust survivor Fajga Burstyn, living in Displaced Persons Camp 538 in Germany, sent to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Trygve Lie beseeching for assistance with emigration to Palestine. The anguish of Holocaust survivors did not end with liberation from the concentration camps: most survivors lost families, possessions, their homes and businesses. Living in Displaced Persons camps throughout Europe, often with their very oppressors, they were encouraged to write the United Nations by the She'erit ha-Pletah organization for help getting passage to Palestine. Form letters were provided with that purpose in mind. This one was signed by Fajga Burstyn. Describing her suffering in the concentration camps, where the “Nazis killed before my eyes all of my dearest and nearest” she continues to be in a German camp “among the murderers of my family.” She importunes Mr. Lie to “take me away… and let me join my brothers and sisters in Palestine, give me the possibility to begin a normal life in my own country.” The B’richa which followed brought 250,000 Jews to Palestine. On May 14, 1948, the provisional government of Israel recognized statehood for Israel, and from that moment Jewish immigration was unrestricted.
Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp After World War II

2012.1.188

A black and white phtograph of a group of men, women and children around a table with a bottle on the table and a mural in the background. Stamp on back notes they were from Block 51 z. 11.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

June 9, 1947. A festive occasion at Belsen gathering men, women and children.
Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp After World War II

2012.1.189

A black and white photograph of a group of men, women and children with a mural in the background. Stamp on back notes they were from Block 51 z. 11.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

June 9, 1947. A festive occasion at Belsen gathering men, women and children.
Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp After World War II

2012.1.183

Men and women holding hands and dancing in black and white outfits.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

July 8, 1947. Dancing the Hora, a traditional dance symbolizing the unity and continuity of Jewish people both historically and as members of the community.
Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp After World War II

2012.1.191

A black and white photograph of a man and woman holding hands with a train in the background with Yiddish text on back.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Couple posing for the camera in front of a train at Belsen. Yiddish writing verso.
Envelope from Eschwege Displaced Persons Camp

2012.1.174

Brown envelope with typewritten address to Mrs. Sylvia Levy crossed out in pencil with an additional address written below. Includes typewritten return address on back.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Eschwege was a DP camp in the Frankfort district, Germany, at this time in the American-occupied zone in 1946. There were approximately 3500 Jews at its peak who established a synagogue, theater group and an auditorium, a newspaper, and a sports club. The cover is addressed to a Mrs. Sylvia Levy in Los Angeles and is from Gubieska Rywa at P.C.I.R.O 1025, forerunner of the International Refugee Organization. Eschwege closed in 1949.