Bergen-Belsen Survivors Association of Montreal Fonds

At the initiative of Josef Rosensaft a meeting was held in New York in December 1961 of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp survivors. It was decided at that time that a World Federation of Bergen-Belsen survivors would be formed with associations in all cities where there were numbers of survivors present. As a result, in early 1962, an association was formed in Montreal with Paul Trepman as president. The aims of the Association were as follows:A. Making sure that neither the world nor the Jews ever forgot the Holocaust;B. Wage a continuous fight against Neo-Nazi groups and organizations;C. Offer brotherly aid to former Bergen-Belsen inmates who are in need;D. Keep alive the heroic and rich Bergen-Belsen tradition. The association met a number of times a year, although the main focus was the Liberation Rally, which took place on or around April 15th, the anniversary of the date that the Bergen-Belsen camp was liberated by the armed forces. Some of the other activities of the association were the erection of a monument in a local Jewish cemetery, and a trip back to Bergen-Belsen on the 25th anniversary of the liberation.

Transferred by Paul Trepman, former director of the Jewish Public Library, and a leader in the Bergen-Belsen Survivors Association.