
Distance from the Belsen Heap
Allied Forces and the Liberation of a Nazi Concentration Camp
Mark Celinscak(Author)
University of Toronto Press
Published on 1. December 2015
Book
Hardback
328 pages
978-1-4426-4762-6 (ISBN)
Description
The Allied soldiers who liberated the Nazi concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen in April 1945 were faced with scenes of horror and privation. With breathtaking thoroughness, Distance from the Belsen Heap documents what they saw and how they came to terms with those images over the course of the next seventy years. On the basis of research in more than seventy archives in four countries, Mark Celinscak analyses how these military personnel struggled with the intense experience of the camp; how they attempted to describe what they had seen, heard, and felt to those back home; and how their lives were transformed by that experience. He also brings to light the previously unacknowledged presence of hundreds of Canadians among the camp's liberators, including noted painter Alex Colville. Distance from the Belsen Heap examines the experiences of hundreds of British and Canadian eyewitnesses to atrocity, including war artists, photographers, medical personnel, and chaplains. A study of the complicated encounter between these Allied soldiers and the horrors of the Holocaust, Distance from the Belsen Heap is a testament to their experience.
Reviews / Votes
'A thoughtful and useful addition to the literature on the Holocaust, Celinscak's work brings together solid archival research and interdisciplinary approaches to shed important new light on an under-research subject.' -- Nicholas J. Steneck The Journal of Military History vol 80:04:2016 'This book is a worthy addition to any scholar's library, especially those who study the Holocaust, genocide, or World War II.' -- Melissa Young H-Net/H-War September 2016 'Required reading. Essential. All levels/libraries.' -- M.A. Mengerink Choice Magazine vol 53:11:2016 "A very well documented study of one of the key events in the history of the Holocaust. Engaging, well researched, and unusually specific in the lenses." -- Jury, Vine Awards for Canadian Jewish Literature "This is a remarkable account of the Allied liberation of Belsen. It builds on the growing and diverse scholarship in the field and develops it further by wide ranging and careful research. This topic requires a sensitive approach and Celinscak has more than met this challenge. Sources ranging from art and photography, oral history, and contemporary reports are combined with great subtlety and purpose. Neglected areas, especially the Canadian forces and their role in the camp's liberation, are rightly restored to the narrative. Multidisciplinary, it is a major contribution to Holocaust studies." -- Tony Kushner, Parkes Institute for the Study of Jewish/Non-Jewish Relations, University of Southampton "A valuable, thoroughly researched work, Distance from the Belsen Heap rightly rebalances the story of Bergen-Belsen's liberation to include the Canadian experience." -- Suzanne Bardgett, Head of Research and Academic Partnerships, Imperial War MuseumsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
24
Dimensions
Height: 238 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
600 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4426-4762-6 (9781442647626)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Mark Celinscak is the Louis and Frances Blumkin Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies in the Department of History at the University of Nebraska Omaha and the Executive Director of the Sam and Frances Fried Fund of Holocaust and Genocide Studies.
Content
Preface Chapter One: Experience, Narrative and Meaning Chapter Two: The Rhine, the Heath, the Wire Chapter Three: The Distance of Presence Chapter Four: A Camp on Exhibit Chapter Five: The Impossible Real Chapter Six: Padres, Patients and Pathologies Conclusion: A Past Intensity