Collection GB 1556 WL 758 - Gurs concentration camp: postcards

Identity area

Reference code

GB 1556 WL 758

Title

Gurs concentration camp: postcards

Date(s)

  • 1941 (Creation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent and medium

2 items

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Gurs was a major internment camp in France, near Oloron-Sainte-Marie and 80 kilometers from the Spanish border. Established in 1939 to absorb Republican refugees from Spain, Gurs served later 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 758 1941 collection 2 items Kahnheimer , Berta , fl 1941

Gurs was a major internment camp in France, near Oloron-Sainte-Marie and 80 kilometers from the Spanish border. Established in 1939 to absorb Republican refugees from Spain, Gurs served later 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.

Received, Jun 1987

Postcards sent by Berta Kahnheimer, a [German] Jewish inmate at Gurs concentration camp, France, including to Felix Müller, Geneva, 3 Jan 1941 and Dr Ludwig Marse, Geneva, 16 Nov 1941.

Chronological

Open

Copies can be made for personal use. Permission must be sought for publication.

German

Detailed description on the Wiener Library's online catalogue www.wienerlibrary.co.uk.

Entry compiled by Sarah Drewery.

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.

Mar 2008 Wars (events) Concentration camps Europe France Genocide Gurs concentration camp Holocaust Humanitarian law Jews Religious groups War crimes Western Europe World wars (events) World War Two (1939-1945)

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Received, Jun 1987

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Postcards sent by Berta Kahnheimer, a [German] Jewish inmate at Gurs concentration camp, France, including to Felix Müller, Geneva, 3 Jan 1941 and Dr Ludwig Marse, Geneva, 16 Nov 1941.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Chronological

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

Detailed description on the Wiener Library's online catalogue www.wienerlibrary.co.uk.

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Wiener Library

Rules and/or conventions used

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

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area