Surviving survival: nursing care at Bergen-Belsen 1945

Ben-Sefer, EJ

Surviving survival: nursing care at Bergen-Belsen 1945

Ben-Sefer, EJ

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Publisher:: Australian Nursing Federation
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2009, 26 (3), pp. 101 - 110
Issue Date:: 2009-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Ben-Sefer, EJ	en_US
dc.date.issued	2009-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2009, 26 (3), pp. 101 - 110	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0813-0531	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/9756
dc.description.abstract	Objective The purpose of this paper was to explore the previously little known contribution of nursing care at the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Setting Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Primary argument The liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp became a widespread symbol of suffering when it was liberated by British forces. Films of the liberation and the appalling condition of the survivors were widely disseminated in the western Allied countries. Despite the earlier liberation of Majdanek and Auschwitz in Poland, Bergen-Belsen became fixed in the minds of the British public as an icon of the holocaust. Due to the catastrophic conditions found in the camp, doctors, nurses, medical students and aid organisations were quickly drafted into the relief effort. The work of doctors has been well publicised, however little has appeared that details the contribution of nurses. The diaries and letters of Muriel Knox Dougherty, the Australian nurse who became chief matron of the camp's nursing services have been published only in recent years. No other material has been made public; consequently the work of the nurses has yet to be fully detailed. Conclusion This paper presents the reflections and recollections of several nurses who served in the liberation nursing services. Primary sources for this paper include relevant literature, archival material including correspondence, diaries, testimonies and personal correspondence. The conclusion formed on the basis of these documents is that the work of the nurses during the liberation period was life-saving for their patients and life-changing for the nurses.	en_US
dc.publisher	Australian Nursing Federation	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Nursing	en_US
dc.title	Surviving survival: nursing care at Bergen-Belsen 1945	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	3	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	26	en_US
utslib.location.activity	ISI:000263796800015	en_US
utslib.for	1110 Nursing	en_US
dc.location.activity	ISI:000263796800015	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.consider-herdc	true	en_US
pubs.issue	3	en_US
pubs.volume	26	en_US

Abstract:

Objective The purpose of this paper was to explore the previously little known contribution of nursing care at the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Setting Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Primary argument The liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp became a widespread symbol of suffering when it was liberated by British forces. Films of the liberation and the appalling condition of the survivors were widely disseminated in the western Allied countries. Despite the earlier liberation of Majdanek and Auschwitz in Poland, Bergen-Belsen became fixed in the minds of the British public as an icon of the holocaust. Due to the catastrophic conditions found in the camp, doctors, nurses, medical students and aid organisations were quickly drafted into the relief effort. The work of doctors has been well publicised, however little has appeared that details the contribution of nurses. The diaries and letters of Muriel Knox Dougherty, the Australian nurse who became chief matron of the camp's nursing services have been published only in recent years. No other material has been made public; consequently the work of the nurses has yet to be fully detailed. Conclusion This paper presents the reflections and recollections of several nurses who served in the liberation nursing services. Primary sources for this paper include relevant literature, archival material including correspondence, diaries, testimonies and personal correspondence. The conclusion formed on the basis of these documents is that the work of the nurses during the liberation period was life-saving for their patients and life-changing for the nurses.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/9756