O.70 - Josef Rosensaft Bergen-Belsen POW Camp Archive

O.70 - Josef Rosensaft Bergen-Berlsen DP Camp Archives
 
 Bergen-Belsen was liberated by the British Army, 15 April 1945. There were approximately 58,000 survivors at the time of the liberation, of whom approximately 28,000 died from disease and starvation during the first weeks after the liberation. A Displaced Persons (DP) camp was established in Bergen-Belsen and the survivors immediately began to organize themselves. They set up the Central Jewish Committee (CJC) for the camp, headed by Josef Rosensaft. The CJC and its various departments took responsibility for the physical and spiritual needs of the camp's residents. Along with the CJC, many institutions and organizations fulfilled various functions: a hospital, police force, court of law, schools, libraries, theater, and cultural and sports institutions. A newspaper and other publications were published in the camp.
 
 The material in this record group was collected by Hadassah and Josef Rosensaft, and was submitted to the Yad Vashem Archives by Hadassah Rosensaft.
 
 The collection includes:
 
 - Correspondence;
 
 - Protocols;
 
 - Reports and circulars;
 
 - Placards;
 
 - Announcements;
 
 - Photographs;
 
 - Newspaper clippings;
 
 - Films and audio recordings.
 
 Additionally, the collection includes documentation regarding activities by survivors' organizations world-wide, collected after the closure of the DP camp in 1951.
 
 The collection includes two diaries:
 
 - Diary of the Jewish theater in Bergen-Belsen DP camp, submitted to Yad Vashem by Sami Feder, the artistic director of the theater;
 
 - Diary of Muriel Doherty, an Australian nurse, a member of the medical staff of the camp hospital.