Life After Belsen (Paperback)

At the end of World War II Europe overflowed with Displaced People (DPs). The horror camps of the Nazis did not close straight after liberation. The people of the camps had to wait to be resettled and it was Jewish survivors who waited the longest. Simon Bloomberg provides a candid, though often humorous, eye-witness account of what took place in the DP camps after the War, including the one at Bergen-Belsen that he led from 1946 to 1947. This camp only closed in 1951 after its people had finally emigrated to Israel to start a new life.

Simon Bloomberg was a Jewish humanitarian best known for his historic role in resettling the Displaced Persons of Europe after World War II. He was awarded a CBE for a life of service to the British Colonial Office and recognised by the United Nations for the vital part he played in relieving the suffering and saving lives of victims of war. The Jewish Committee for Relief Abroad also commended him for his devotion towards helping survivors of Nazi persecution to rebuild their lives. German historians, Angelika Konigseder and Juliane Wetzel wrote about Simon in their book Waiting for Hope: Jewish Displaced Persons in Post-World War II Germany. "Bloomberg knew the official mind and could talk on equal terms with the military and civil authorities. There was soon a different atmosphere at Belsen." Historic documents relating to Simon's time at Bergen-Belsen (Hohne) are housed in The Wiener Library for the study of the Holocaust and Genocide, in London. For more information about Simon visit www.simonbloomberg.com.