Overview
- Summary
- This dissertation examines the surrender and relief of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in northwest Germany at the end of the Second World War. While it is well known that Bergen-Belsen was surrendered to the British Army in April 1945, hundreds of Canadians also assisted and hundreds more encountered the camp through informal visits and authorized tours. The remarkable Canadian efforts at this camp have not been properly acknowledged, studied or documented. Accordingly, this dissertation reveals the considerable Canadian involvement during the surrender and relief of Bergen-Belsen. In addition, it surveys the personal narratives of both British and Canadian military personnel as they responded to the situation at the camp. The focus of this dissertation is then twofold: to contribute to the historical understanding of the liberation and relief of Bergen-Belsen by revealing the—as of yet—untold Canadian involvement, and secondly, to survey the responses, both oral and written, of British and Canadian military personnel. The central question asked of the numerous letters, diaries, memoirs and interviews offered by military personnel is the same: what messages are being offered and what does this mean? Additional questions are also presented, such as: How did Britons and Canadians view those who had been starved and who were suffering from a variety of illnesses? How does one maintain a sense of humanity when dealing with those who had been degraded and dehumanized? At war's end, the encounter at Bergen-Belsen became lingering memories and stories military personnel would ultimately contend with for the rest of their lives.
- Format
- Book
- Published
- 2012
- Locale
- Europe
Germany - Notes
-
Typescript.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2012.
Graduate Programme in Humanities.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 237-271).
Access to Internet version restricted to York University faculty, staff and students.
Microfiche. Ottawa, Ont. : National Library of Canada, [2012]. 3 microfiches ; 11 x 15 cm. (Canadian theses = Thèses canadiennes)
System requirements for Internet version: Adobe Acrobat reader.
Dissertations and Theses
Physical Details
- Language
- English
- ISBN
- 9780494903476
0494903473 (microfiche) - Additional Form
-
Electronic version(s) available online.
- Physical Description
- xv, 271 leaves ; 28 cm.
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- Access to Internet version restricted to York University faculty, staff and students.
Keywords & Subjects
- Record last modified:
- 2018-05-25 09:44:00
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/bib240614
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