Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 20th century (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 file
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Gurs was a major internment camp in France, near Oloron-Sainte-Marie, 80 kilometers from the Spanish border. Established in 1939 to absorb Republican refugees from Spain, Gurs later served as a concentration camp for Jews from France and refugees from other countries. While under the administration of Vichy France (1940-1942) most non-Jewish prisoners were released and approximately 2000 Jews were permitted to emigrate. In 1941 Gurs held some 15,000 prisoners. The camp was controlled by the Germans from 1942 to 1944, during which time several thousand inmates were deported to extermination camps in Poland. An unknown number succeeded in escaping and reaching Spain or hiding in Southern France. Gurs was liberated in the summer of 1944.
Repository
Archival history
GB 1556 WL 1313 20th century collection 1 file Forester , Hedwig , fl 1940
Gurs was a major internment camp in France, near Oloron-Sainte-Marie, 80 kilometers from the Spanish border. Established in 1939 to absorb Republican refugees from Spain, Gurs later served as a concentration camp for Jews from France and refugees from other countries. While under the administration of Vichy France (1940-1942) most non-Jewish prisoners were released and approximately 2000 Jews were permitted to emigrate. In 1941 Gurs held some 15,000 prisoners. The camp was controlled by the Germans from 1942 to 1944, during which time several thousand inmates were deported to extermination camps in Poland. An unknown number succeeded in escaping and reaching Spain or hiding in Southern France. Gurs was liberated in the summer of 1944.
M. Schneider
Copy of an eyewitness report by Hedwig Forester of his arrest by the Nazis in Brussels, May 1940, transportation in cattle wagons, and arrival in Gurs concentration camp, France, 2 weeks later.
N/A
Open
Copies can be made for personal use. Permission must be sought for publication.
German
Pages missing
Description exists to this archive on the Wiener Library's online catalogue www.wienerlibrary.co.uk
Entry compiled by Howard Falksohn.
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
February 2008 Belgium Brussels Concentration camps Europe France Gurs concentration camp Humanitarian law Jews Nazism Political doctrines Religious groups Third Reich Totalitarianism War crimes Western Europe
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
M. Schneider
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Copy of an eyewitness report by Hedwig Forester of his arrest by the Nazis in Brussels, May 1940, transportation in cattle wagons, and arrival in Gurs concentration camp, France, 2 weeks later.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
N/A
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open
Conditions governing reproduction
Copies can be made for personal use. Permission must be sought for publication.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
German
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Description exists to this archive on the Wiener Library's online catalogue www.wienerlibrary.co.uk
Allied materials area
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Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English