The Collateral Prisoner. A Bundist Holocaust Survivor between Nazi Perpetrators, Anti-Communism and British World Politics

Abstract

While crossing the border in order to find his comrades in Belgium, Holocaust survivor and Bundist Herman Goldberg was arrested by the British military under the suspicion of being a Communist, a Trotskyist or even a militant member of the Zionist underground. After he had “proven” his “innocence,” he still remained incarcerated for months – to his torment together with high-ranked German Nazis. In a painfully composed letter, Goldberg turned to his comrades in New York who apparently were overwhelmed by the many problems risen by this unique source of post-Holocaust martyrdom of a political activist. Arguing that the collateral prisoner Goldberg suffered this deeply insulting treatment because he was not a member of the movements the British were afraid of, this article presents a full translation of this newly discovered document as well as a contextual interpretation.

Bielefeld University / Johns Hopkins University