Strange New World

This is a new book. Condition: Brand New.

The Liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp on 15 April 1945 was hailed as a triumph of British victory over Nazi Germany. But for the 55,000 survivors of the 'Horror Camp', freedom brought new tragedy: a quarter died in the following five weeks. For many of those who lived, liberation meant barbed wire, military rule and a different kind of confinement.

Evacuated to a nearby army barracks - soon Europe's largest Jewish Displaced Persons' camp - survivors faced endemic disease, bureaucratic indifference and an uncertain future. Josef Rosensaft, Jewish political leader in the camp, called the first year of freedom 'more oppressive to our souls than the years in the hell of Auschwitz and Belsen': 'we saw before us a new kind of world, cold and strange'.

Strange New World is the untold story of Belsen's survivors. Refusing to remain victims, they fought to reclaim agency, build community and forge new lives from the ruins. Their history resonates today as millions of displaced people worldwide navigate the gap between rescue and true freedom.

Book details and technical specifications

Format: Paperback / softback
ISBN13: 9781923451445
Published: April 2026

Number of pages: 416
Width: 153 mm
Height: 234 mm
Depth: not specified

Publisher: Monash University Publishing