Manuscript

Held by

Montreal Holocaust Museum via Canadian Jewish Heritage Network (incl. Alex Dworkin Canadian Jewish Archives)

Dates

1948-1949 (indexed as 1948–1949)

Level

item

Extent

Manuscript : Paper : Typewritten : Ink : Black, white, red, blue ; Ht: 28 cm x W: 21 cm

Scope & content

7 printed pages, copies of an original testimony by Sylvia Markowitz. Page 1 is entitled 'Additional Information in Reference to the Overseas Assignment With the American Joint Distribution Committee.' Chapters include 'The Jewish Gemeinde Hamburg,' 'Warburg Children's Home, Hamburg,' and the 'Hamburg office.' In her account, Sylvia describes her work in the AJDC and some of its other offices in Germany. It focuses on redeveloping the Jewish community in Europe and resourcing Holocaust survivors. In closing she mentions that she feels this was a worthwhile experience for her and that she would like to continue. Narrative: Sylvia Benjamin (then Markowitz) started working as overseas staff for the American Joint Distribution Committee in Dec 1945. Her first assignment was at the Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons camp near Hamburg. She was charged with interviewing for and distributing visas to Sweden, helping Jews locate surviving family, and for arranging medical care. After 6 months she was transferred to Hamburg where she helped re-establish a Jewish community in the Jewish Gemeinde. Her focus was on rebuilding a sense of community and spirit above mere survival requirements.

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textual record

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AmbulanceClinicDepositionDocumentGovernmentHandwrittenHospitalImmigrationJewish CommunityLetterMedicineMilitary CampPublic HealthSanitationSealSignatureTrainTypewrittenTagged automatically by a vision model; may contain mistakes.

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Sylvia BenjaminJewish Family Serviceres. 744-6632Additional Information In Reference to My Overseas AssignmentWith The American Joint Distribution CommitteeJewish Family ServicesI joined the overseas staff of the American Joint Distribution Committee in December 1945 and left the United States on January 3, 1946 for overseas duty as a welfare worker. After studying field reports in the Paris office, I was assigned to field duty in Bergen-Belsen camp, in the British Zone of Occupation, and arrived there on February 1, 1946. I spent six months in Bergen-Belsen as immigration officer in charge of Swedish immigration, then was transferred to Hamburg region as Senior Field Representative. I served in that capacity for two and a half years.When Bergen-Belsen was liberated, the old camp which was a pestilence area was burned to the ground and the people were transferred to the former S.S.Panzer barracks. They lived here in filthy, overcrowded conditions, ten persons in one room, no heating facilities, the danger of epidemic was always present. The AJDC did a fine job in rushing medical supplies and staff, emergency food and clothing to the camps. They set up a permanent staff of doctors and nurses, established hospitals, sick-bays, schools, nurseries and childrens homes, distributed food and clothing, set up search, welfare and immigration offices. The AJDC distributed educational and recreational supplies and supported work-projects, synagogues, old-age homes and recreational centers. They educated the people in sanitation and personal hygiene habits and established regular X-ray examinations for all. Since there was a high rate of T.B. cases, the AJDC arranged for their care in sanatoria at Merano, Italy and Davos, Switzerland and arranged their transportation, visas and exit-permits from Belsen.In April 1945, immediately upon liberation of Bergen-Belsen, the Swedish Government transported 10,000 D.P.,s from Belsen to Sweden in an effort to save their lives. They were transported by ambulance via Luebeck and from Luebeck by ship to Sweden. Thousands died on the trip. The survivors were immediately hospitalized and cared for by Swedish voluntary welfare agencies and by the Swedish Red Cross. After several months, they were permitted to apply for entry-visas for their relatives. Originally, the Swedish Red Cross handled negotiations for immigration. In March 1946, the Swedish Consulate General opened offices in Hamburg and serviced all of Germany.Since Bergen-Belsen was the camp nearest to Hamburg, the people searching for relatives who might possibly have been transported to Sweden, and those hoping to rejoin relatives already in Sweden, flocked to Belsen and waited there. When I arrived in Belsen, there were 800 people in this category. The mail service was open only to allied personnel, the telephone service was practically non-existent. There were pathetic and scattered records of lists of people taken to Sweden. The hundreds of people waiting for Swedish immigration to open visited the AJDC offices daily, bitter and resentful, unable to understand why they were not permitted to leave the dreadful camp, impatient with explanations of visas and clearanceRead automatically; may contain mistakes.

Language

English

Harvested

2026-10-19T03:21:16Z · source datestamp n/a · andornot

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