Overview
- Description
- Consists of photocopies of photographs taken during April and May of 1945 of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp shortly after liberation by the 2nd British Army. Included are photos of camp survivors, burial of dead prisoners by the SS guards of the camp, the burning of several barracks by the British, and several groups of women in the camp.
- Collection Creator
- Hadassah Rosensaft
- Biography
-
Hadassah Bimko (later Rosensaft) was born on August 26, 1912, in Sosnowiec, Poland. In 1935, Hadassah received her doctorate in dental surgery and began a career as a dentist. In September 1939, she was living with her family in Sosnowiec, Poland, when Nazi Germany invaded and occupied the country. In 1943, Hadassah, her 5.5 year old son, and her parents were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp. Her son and parents were soon killed on the gas chambers. Hadassah was made to work as a doctor in the infirmary. Aware that sick inmates often were sent to the gas chambers to be killed, Dr. Rosensaft sent them out of the infirmary and told camp officials that they were healthy. She remained a prisoner in Auschwitz until November 14, 1944, when she was sent to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany. She again was told to work as a doctor. In December 1944, 101 Jewish orphans arrived at the camp and were placed in her care. Bergen Belsen was liberated on April 15,1945, by British forces. Hadassah is credited with helping save hundreds of Jewish inmates at Auschwitz. She testified at the 1945 war crimes trial of former commandants and staff members from Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. She identified 15 of the 45 mass murder defendants, including Josef Kramer, a former commandant known as "the Beast of Belsen." Her family soon died in the gas chambers, and she went to work in the infirmary. The war ended when Germany surrendered on May 7. Soon after this, Hadassah married Joseph Rosensaft, who was chairman of the Jewish Committee of Bergen-Belsen, which oversaw the needs of camp survivors. Dr. Rosensaft, 85, died on October 3, 1997.
Physical Details
- Extent
-
2 folders
- System of Arrangement
- Arrangement is thematic
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- The donor, source institution, or a third party has asserted copyright over some or all of these material(s). The Museum does not own the copyright for the material and does not have authority to authorize use. For permission, please contact the rights holder(s).
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
Photographic Reference Collection United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Curatorial Affairs Department
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The materials were collected by Hadassah and Josef Rosensaft through the years since their liberation from Bergen-Belsen. The photographs and photograph negatives (formerly belonging to the Rosensaft family archives) were copied by the accessioning archivist and the originals transferred to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Photo Archives.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-08-25 08:35:32
- This page:
- http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn502679
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Hadassah Rosensaft photograph collection
Document
The papers consist of one photograph of Benjamin Bimko-Preizerowicz, son of Hadassah Bimko-Rosensaft [donor] and Josef Preizerowicz, who was born in Sosnowiec, Poland, on December 3, 1937 and died at Auschwitz-Birkenau on August 4, 1943. The papers also include a photograph of a group of Jewish men with raised hands that was taken in Będzin, Poland, in September 1939.
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Contains information about the establishment of health care facilities after liberation, the activities of Hadassah and Josef Rosensaft as leaders in the Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp, and the closing of the camp in 1950.
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Document
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Includes information about the work of Josef Rosensaft with the displaced persons of Bergen-Belsen, the final days and closing of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, compensation for Jews who were detained in the camp after liberation, and antisemitism experienced by Jews remaining in the British Zone after liberation.
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Document
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