Research
Search for Belsen survivors
Dr Rainer Schulze, of the Department of History, has
recently begun research into the lives of survivors from Bergen-Belsen, a
World War II concentration camp in Lower Saxony, Germany.
Funded by a research grant of £103, 818, Dr Schulze is responsible for
tracing survivors who now live in the UK and recording testimonies of
their lives. He will be asking them not just about their incarceration at
Belsen, but also about their lives before and after the War, in order to
draw a more detailed picture of their lives as individuals and not merely
as Holocaust survivors.
The research is part of a wider programme that involves academics in
the USA, Israel, and Poland, as well as Germany. This world-wide project
will culminate in the establishment of a new exhibition, replacing the
current one which opened in 1990, at the Gedenkstätte (Memorial) Bergen-Belsen
on the site of the camp.
For some survivors their memories will be too painful to recall but Dr
Schulze hopes that many others will be willing to talk to him. He will
also be asking them for records or exhibits relating to their time at
Bergen-Belsen. Documents such as diaries, letters, drawings and photos
will complement the research programme and wherever possible, will be
included in the exhibition, or at least in a central archive at the site.
When asked about the research Dr Schulze said: 'The main aims of the
research, and of the new exhibition, are to individualise the survivors by
painting a fuller picture of their whole lives, and of course, to give
dignity back to those who did not survive the horrors of Bergen-Belsen.
'Approximately 110,000 to 120,000 people were held at Bergen-Belsen,
and we know the names of less than half, due to Nazi destruction of
records. We want to give as many names as we can to those victims who
today are nameless.'
Approximately 50,000 Jews, victims of Hitler's anti-Semitic regime,
died at Bergen-Belsen, along with 30,000 to 50,000 prisoners of war who
were of various nationalities. Even after liberation, on 15 April 1945,
thousands still perished due to extreme illness that could not be
adequately treated by the liberating troops.
So far Dr Schulze has interviewed about eight Jewish and four Polish
survivors. He has also spoken with others who have not yet been formally
interviewed.
As part of his quest to find more survivors Dr Schulze recently
initiated a meeting between himself, and Jewish Belsen survivors who
wished to attend, at the Holocaust Survivors Centre in London. Dr Schulze
spent the day meeting survivors and talking with them about many things,
including their opinions concerning the updating of the exhibition centre
at Bergen-Belsen.
When asked about the new exhibition and the plans for the site all
those who attended were keen to play a part and were very vocal in their
opinions. It was agreed that the site must not only act as a peaceful and
dignified cemetery for the thousands buried in mass graves, but also that
the horrors carried out there must not be hidden. It was also felt that
there should be some memorial on which the names of all those who went
through Belsen could be inscribed.
The main emphasis of anything, must, like Dr Schulze's research, be the
victims. As co-ordinator of the UK research project it will be Dr
Schulze's responsibility to take these ideas back to Belsen and he takes
his position extremely seriously:
'If we create something which survivors and relatives do not find
suitable and appropriate, we will have failed. This is why talking to as
many survivors as possible is so vital for this project. The meeting at
the Holocaust Survivors Centre was one important element of this.'
Of the approximately 14 people who attended, about half were not
previously known to Dr Schulze. Others, like Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who
went public with her story in order to educate people many years ago, had
already been in contact with Dr Schulze.
Like most Holocaust survivors, Anita spent time in a number of Nazi
concentration camps rather than in just one. She and her sister were first
imprisoned at Breslau, then at Auschwitz, where she played Cello in the
camp orchestra, and lastly at Bergen-Belsen which she describes as 'a
place of death.' Liberated by the British, Anita and her sister both
survived the War. Her life in Britain, since liberation, has been marked
by musical excellence, family life, and a desire to educate the British
public on the atrocities of the Holocaust.
Like other 'famous' Belsen victims, the best known being Anne Frank,
Anita's name is known to us today, but for so many others the story is
very different. The Nazis' aim was not only to eliminate these people
physically, but also to make sure that they would never be remembered, to
wipe out from collective memory that they ever existed. For so many
victims this has nearly been achieved, but with projects such as this
being carried out by Dr Schulze the matter can be rectified.
It is hoped that the new exhibition will be opened in 2004.
Sports Science student Debbie Welford has won an award at
a prestigious national conference after presenting her exercise physiology
research findings.
PhD student Debbie described her research to the British Association
for Sports and Exercise Science's annual conference, held at the
University of Wales College.
Debbie explained how she had evaluated a new method for measuring
lactate capacity in athletes.
Improving lactate threshold is an important aspect of many athletes'
training regimes, and traditional methods of measurement involve taking
several blood samples during exercise. Debbie evaluated a non-invasive
method currently being marketed to athletes, but found it to be
inaccurate.
Her presentation was judged to be the best physiology poster at the
meeting and won her a £100 book voucher.
PhD student Mustafa Altunsoy also presented his work on optimising
lactate clearance, a measure of recovery after intense exercise.
Director of Sports Science Dr Martin Sellens said: 'This award raises
the profile of Essex as a research institution in Sports and Exercise
Science.'
Also in the printed November edition of Wyvern:
