[5] While writing her PhD dissertation in North Carolina, Bergen studied under the direction of Gerhard Weinberg, a professor with a focus on World War II.
[5] During this time, Bergen published Twisted cross: the German Christian movement in the Third Reich which focused on the Protestant Church's response to Nazism.
[10] A year later, in 1997, Bergen held a Fellowship for Archival Research at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
[5] In 2006, before taking a leave of absence, Bergen was elected Chair of the University Committee on Women Faculty and Students.
[16] She also replaced Michael Marrus as the Chancellor Rose and Ray Wolfe Professor of Holocaust Studies at the University of Toronto.
[21] While assuming this role, she was also selected by Jason Kenney as an Advisory Council Members for the International Task Force on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research.
[25] Two years later, Bergen collaborated with photographer Edward Burtynsky to produce Chai, a book featuring images from various Holocaust sites in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, and Hungary.