Central Jewish Committee of the Bergen Belsen Displaced Persons Camp

Bergen-Belsen was liberated by the British Army on 1945-04-15. There were approximately 58,000 survivors at the time of the liberation, of whom approximately 28,000 died from disease and starvation during the first weeks after the liberation. A Displaced Persons (DP) camp was established in Bergen-Belsen and the survivors immediately began to organize themselves. They set up the Central Jewish Committee of the Bergen Belsen Displaced Persons Camp, headed by Josef Rosensaft. The CJC and its various departments took responsibility for the physical and spiritual needs of the camp’s residents. Along with the CJC, many institutions and organizations fulfilled various functions: a hospital, police force, court of law, schools, libraries, theater, and cultural and sports institutions. A newspaper and other publications were published in the camp.