After Daybreak: The Liberation of Bergen-Belsen, 1945 (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Why did 14,000 inmates of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp die after its liberation and under British control? Shephard, creator of the Emmy-winning documentary series The World at War, casts a critical but judicious eye on British management of the camp. Drawing on letters and diaries by British military and medical personnel, he paints a textured picture of the camp's desperate state, rife with starvation and typhus. Shephard acknowledges the enormity of the problems the British faced and the logistical difficulties of wartime. Yet he makes clear that many deaths could have been prevented. Some died from food that was too rich and heavy for starving people, and the evacuation of both the sick and fit was delayed. At the same time, he commends some people, often outside the military structure, who saved lives through individual initiative and heroic measures. Shephard draws lessons for today in, for instance, the difficulty the military has in dealing with a humanitarian disaster, and the basic reality that there's only so much that can be done when confronting a den of disease. B&w photos.
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* On April 15, 1945, the first British tanks entered Bergen-Belsen. Inside the concentration camp were piles of dead bodies and 60,000 people--more than half of them Jewish survivors of the Nazi Final Solution. They were still clinging to life and crying out to be saved. Shephard, a documentary filmmaker and historian, notes that it fell to the British to help them. This book is about how they responded to that challenge. He observes that the role played by 96 volunteers from London medical schools who were sent to the camp was lauded, but when historians looked at this event again in the 1990s, they noticed several disturbing elements. Why did it take so long (almost two weeks) to organize a proper medical response? Why were the medical teams sent to the camp so poorly equipped, with only aspirin and opium, and no surgical instruments and anesthetics? Above all, was it inevitable that nearly 14,000 people should die thereafter it was liberated? The answers, Shephard writes, can be found in contemporary military records, diaries, and the testimony of survivors. He concludes that it is a moving story of brotherhood, a sad tale of human frailty, and an illuminating case study. Sixty years later, the author offers readers a precise sense of what went on in the camp day by day. He believes that Bergen-Belsen should be remembered not simply for the evil perpetrated there but for the humane and life-affirming work that was done. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Schocken (November 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805242325
• ISBN-13: 978-0805242324
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #683,588 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb writing, November 26, 2005

By	Princeton Reader "Princeton Reader" (Princeton NJ) - See all my reviews

Mr Shepard did a superb job of illuminating the story of the liberation of Bergen Belsen by the British. The writing is very clear and compelling. It is definitely in my top collection of ""top 10 most clearly written books", making the reading of a very sad chapter of human history very rewarding indeed.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent account of post-liberation challenges, July 23, 2006

By	Don Horowitz "SanSiro" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I purchased this book at the Bergen Belsen Memorial (sorry Amazon) at the end of my visit there between the USA's first two games at the 2006 World Cup.
My father (who is still living) was a US Army medic in World War II. A few days after the British Army liberated Bergen Belsen his company of medics (29th Div. 104th Med Bttn, Co. A) was assigned to Bergen Belsen and remained there for a day or so to provide assistance to the surviving Jews, Polish slave laborers and other internees.
Ben Sheperd's prose held my interest easily and I finished his book during my flight back to the states. Most accounts I have seen in print, film or other media cover little of what happended at concentration camps after they were liberated by Allied forces. This account is an objective look at both the successes and failures in the approach and actions of the British authorities who were in charge of the camp. One major area of criticism is that there had been clear pre-liberation indications and hard intelligence as to what was transpiring at the camps, yet the planning and approach was undertaken largely in ignorance of the conditions.
My only disappointment is that the book makes no mention of the (albeit brief) contributions of American military personnel like those in my father's unit. However as the book was written for a British audience by a BBC producer and the post-liberation operations were overwhelmingly performed by British civilian and military personnel, that is quite understandable. The book does mention the volunteer efforts of American Friends Service Committee personnel.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A remarkable book, July 13, 2006

By	Lester H. Wurtele - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the finest book about the holocaust, and perhaps one of the finest books that I have ever read. It should be required reading at the high school or college level, as well as for heads of state.