Bergen-Belsen

The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was set up originally as a special camp to house Jews to be traded for German nationals held abroad. This plan never came to fruition, and Bergen-Belsen was one of the first camps liberated by the Allied troops. Pictures of the emaciated men and women taken by Margaret Bourke White appeared on the cover of LIFE magazine.

This cover was written at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and transported to the Berlin Jewish Council. It was mailed through the postal system in Berlin on  December 14, 1944. The card was censored and checked for hidden messages using a blue chemical strip. It finally reached Rabbi Ehrenpreis in Stockholm, Sweden.


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