title: Symposium--commemoration of the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp and medical management of disasters study period.
abstract: Over the period 15/16 April 1998 a commemorative dinner and study period was held to recognise the role of the medical services in the management of the victims of the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp. Having been presented with a framework for planning medical support to these situations, one of the London medical students at Belsen in 1945 related his own experience at this unprecedented and horrific scene. Following this, the lessons that may be drawn were examined, the key factor being the need to create order out of chaos. The system used by the military for analysing what has to be achieved in a given situation, and the deductions that can be made from the prevailing factors, called the Estimate Process, emerged as a model for planning the medical contribution to disaster relief.
authors.affiliation: 1 Armd Fd Amb RAMC, Glyn Hughes Barracks.
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Cordell
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Forsdick
mesh_terms: D003209:Concentration Camps; D005858:Germany; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008887:Military Medicine; D013337:Students, Medical; D006113:United Kingdom; D014857:Warfare