Bergen-Belsen was a concentration camp located in northern Germany near the city of Celle. The camp was officially established in April 1943 as a detention camp for holding persons who were designated for exchange with German nationals in Allied countries. During its first 18 months, five sattelite camps were established: (1) a "prisoners camp" which had a very high mortality rate; (2) a "special camp" of Jews from Poland who had papers in their possession (mostly South American)-- most of these inmates ended up at Auschwitz; (3) a "neutral camp" which consisted of Jews from neutral countries; (4) a "star camp" ("Sternlager") which consisted of Jews who were designated for exchange (very few were in fact exchanged); and (5) a "Hungarian camp" set up for Jews from Hungary. Beginning in March 1944, the camp was gradually turned into a "regular" camp with many prisoners coming from other camps. Tens of thousands of addtional prisoners poured into the camp as a result of the death marches from camps in the east. The conditions in the camp by that time were in chaos with over 35,000 deaths during Janaury to mid-April 1945. The camp was liberated by the British army on April 15, 1945. After liberation, the camp became a displaced persons' camp housing mostly Jews waiting to go to Palestine.
Prisoner Card-- Below are thumbnails of the front and back of a postcard from Bergen-Belsen postmarked in Berlin on December 14, 1944. The card is from a prisoner, Abel Herzberg, and is addressed to Switzerland. According to Lordahl (Vol. II, P. 82), this card was used in connection with the Gestapo's Briefaktion (see discussion at Auschwitz-Birkenau). All known cards of this type were sent to Sweden or Switzerland and bear a special cachet indicating return mail through the Association of Jews in Berlin. All these cards were cancelled in Berlin. Please click on the thumbnail to see the full image, and then click your back key or "Prisoner Card" in the left frame to return.
Displaced Persons-- Below are thumbnails of the front and back of four items. The first is an envelope to Tel Aviv from an inmate at the camp maintained at Bergen Belsen by the United Nations Relief Administration after the end of the war. The second is an envelope to Haifa, date unknown, to Haifa from an inmate at Camp 4 L.12/26. This facility was under the jurisdiction of the British Army of the Rhine (B.A.O.R). The third item is a cover from Camp IV, Block H6/6, addressed to Bronx, NY. The last item is a cover from the Central Jewish Committee-- 618 Military Governemnt Detention-- B.A.O.R. to London, England. Please click on the thumbnail to see the full image, and then click your back key or "Displaced Persons" in the left frame to return.
Miscellaneous-- A well organized effort, financed by aid organizations and individual Jews abroad, was started in Portugal and Switzerland to supply basic needs to the victims confined to ghettos and camps. Below is a thumbnail of a Portuguese preprinted export form from the firm of "Sam Amon" pertaining to the export of fish to Bergen-Belsen. Please click on the thumbnail to see the full image, and then click your back key or "Miscellaneous" in the left frame to return.
Encyclopedia Judaica, CD-Rom Edition, Keter Publishing
Erik Lordahl, German Concentration Camps 1933-1945, History and Inmate Mail (2000). Referred to as Lordahl.
Feig, Hitlers Death Camps (1979)
Concentration Camp
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Copyright © 2001 Edward Victor