The first train with Jews bound for Palestine pulling out of Bergen-Hohne station in By , , Jews had left Europe for Palestine. By the spring of , approximately eight million people had been displaced from their homes by the war. By autumn , the Allies had repatriated six to seven million of these people. The one million or so people who remained approximately , of which were Jewish became a somewhat more permanent problem in postwar Europe primarily in Germany.
Many of the DP camps were set up on the sites of former concentration camps or military barracks. Conditions inside were often unsanitary due to severe overcrowding and a lack of supplies in the post-war period.
Initially, all displaced persons which included military personnel, concentration camp survivors, prisoners of war and slave labourers were grouped together in the camps according to nationality. This meant that some Jewish survivors found themselves in camps alongside their former oppressors, simply because they both happened to be from the same country. Harrison recommended the creation of separate camps for Jewish DPs to cater for their specific needs.
In December , the British zone of Germany also created separate camps for Jewish DPs, recognising their special needs as a result of their traumatic experiences. The DP camps were plagued by various difficulties throughout their existence including: a lack of professionally trained staff, shortages in medical supplies, food, and clothing in relation to the number of camp inhabitants, the difficulty of dealing with the psychological effects of persecution on survivors, rising antisemitism on local and international fronts, the number of orphans and new children born within the camps.
These issues were extremely frustrating for the survivors, who had experienced significant trauma throughout the war years and were desperate to restart their lives. Cultural activities in the DP camps thrived. With the support of relief organisations, DPs opened schools, celebrated religious holidays, founded camp newspapers and publications, created new literature, music, and theatre and formed sports teams.
Zionism also enjoyed particular popularity in this period and setting, and as such there were various Zionist-orientated groups, publications, performances, protests and rallies.
The creation of Israel , in combination with the United States Displaced Persons Act of June which allowed the admission of , European refugees into the United States of America , allowed mass emigration out of Europe and dramatically altered situation for DPs in Germany. It was opened in June and was situated south-west of Munich in the American zone of occupied Germany. It held approximately residents. The Gemeinden helped Jewish DPs with issues such as housing, food, medical care, proof of wartime persecution, and property claims.
As well as this, the Gemeinden also often served as a community centre, organising cultural, educational and social events. The Gemeinden also defended Jewish DPs interests when they were threatened, such as in the case of the rising vandalism of Jewish cemeteries and rising antisemitism from Many DPs also worked for their local gemeinden , helping with administration, translation or educational activities.
A programme for a play produced by the inhabitants of Landsberg Displaced Persons Camp. Religious traditions were quickly re-established at Landsberg. Here, the Gurfein family are pictured attending a Passover diner on 14 April Members of the theatrical group are pictured here examining costume designs.
Early in , the British began withdrawing from Palestine. After this, Jewish refugee ships freely landed in the seaports of the new nation. The United States also changed its immigration policy to allow more Jewish refugees to enter.
Although many Jewish survivors were able to build new lives in their adopted countries, many non-Jewish victims of Nazi policies continued to be persecuted in Germany.
Laws which discriminated against Roma Gypsies continued to be in effect until in some parts of the country.
The law used in Nazi Germany to imprison homosexuals remained in effect until Following World War II, several hundred thousand Jewish survivors are unable to return to their home countries and remain in Germany, Austria, or Italy.
The Allies establish camps for displaced persons DPs for the refugees. They remain in the DP camps until they can leave Europe. Harrison's report underscores the plight of Jewish DPs and leads to improved conditions in the camps. At the end of the number of Jewish DPs is estimated at , July 11, Refugee ship sails for Palestine despite British restrictions Many Jewish DPs seek to emigrate to Palestine, despite existing British emigration restrictions. In , Great Britain received a mandate from the League of Nations to administer Palestine, and administered the territory until Despite the restrictions, the refugee ship Exodus leaves southern France for Palestine, carrying 4, Jewish refugees from DP camps in Germany.
Telling Their Stories—Survivors and Liberator Listen, watch, or read stories of those who survived the war, and those who liberated the concentration camps, interviewed by school children and historians.
Listen to the archives he has collected. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Videos and transcripts of interviews with more than survivors. Survivors in Israel Face Poverty In old age, many are alone and penniless. Lived Below Poverty Line One-fourth of Holocaust survivors in the United States are living below the poverty level, not the 7 percent previously believed, figures from the latest national Jewish population study show.
Can you put me in touch with a Holocaust survivor? What do I need to get restitution from Germany? Can you help me with my restitution claim? How do I find out about my relatives who lived in Europe before the Holocaust? How can I use the Registry for research if I am not able to come to the Museum?
If I have already given oral testimony at the Shoah Foundation, why should I still register here? They were usually put together by survivors from those communities and contain descriptions and histories of the shtetl, biographies of prominent people, lists of people who perished, etc.
They are often embellished with photos, maps, and other memorabilia. Mountain Time, Monday—Saturday. An excellent place to start looking for information about your family is older family members. If no one remembers the name of the community in Europe your relative came from, start looking for information about the generation who left Europe. Documents such as death certificates, naturalization papers, birth certificates, and Social Security applications often contain valuable information.
The name of a country is usually not enough to start looking for relatives. Not only are many Holocaust-related sources based on communities rather than countries, but also the borders for many countries have changed over the years.
For more hints, visit the website of JewishGen, which provides valuable research tools, such as the JewishGen Discussion Group, the JewishGen Family Finder external link; a database of over , surnames and towns , the comprehensive directory of InfoFiles external link , ShtetLinks external link for over communities, an online Family Tree of the Jewish People external link contains data on nearly two million people, and a variety of databases such as the ShtetlSeeker external link and Jewish Records Indexing-Poland external link.
The Registry of Holocaust Survivors is not made available over the Internet in order to maintain the privacy of the survivors and their families. However, if you will send us the names you are looking for, we will gladly check the Registry for you.
Please also send us your postal address so we can mail you copies of any matches we may find. The Survivors Registry does not release the addresses, phone numbers or other contact information of the survivors in our database in order to protect their privacy. A good place to start would be to contact local synagogues or a local Jewish genealogical society. Either of these organizations may have suggestions for survivor contacts resources in your immediate area.
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