The Holocaust in Poland: Post-War Displaced Persons


Figure 1.--A HBC reader has sent us this image. The dislocation camp was run by Americans and British charitable groups in Poland. I don’t have an exact date, but I would guess it was taken very soon after the War in 1945-47. The children are well dressed and fed. Very few Jewish children managed to survive the Holocaust in Poland. These children are among the very lucky few.

The horrors of NAZI rule left millions displaced throughout Europe. Many were left displaced within the Reich because of the huge number of foreigners brought into the Reich, many by force, to work in the war industries. Thus displaced persons (DP) camps were opened to assist these people. In some cases, the camps were open at te former NAZI concentration or labor camps. Special facilities were opened for the most tragic of all the displaced persons--the children. We know less about what occurred in Poland. (A substantial part of what is now Poland was German territory before the War or annexed by Germany during the War.) Few Polish Jews survived the Holocaust and in particular few children survived. We note an unidentified center for diplaced Jewish children, but have no details at this time. A HBC reader has sent us this image. The dislocation camp was run by Americans and British charitable groups in Poland (figure 1). I don’t have an exact date, but I would guess it was taken very soon after the War in 1945-47. The children are well dressed and fed. Very few Jewish children managed to survive the Holocaust in Poland. These children are among the very lucky few. Unfortunately we have virtually no inforation about the image. Children rarey survived the Hilocaust for a variety of reasons. Small children were less able to survive the deprivation of the ghettos, especially if their parents died. And once transported to the death camps, they were immediately selected for the gas chambers because thy were non-workers. We suspect that the children here may have been taken in by sympathetic Christian families duing the NAZI occupation. (A very courageous step.) We are also notvsure to what extent the Polish and Communist authorities allowed American and British authorities to operate in Poland after the War. We suspect that many of these children made their way to America or Israel after the War. While Poland became part of the Soviet Empire after the War, I believe that they did facilitate the emigration of Jews. Our reader adds that the children here may be Polish Jews who had already reached the West. These are all topics we need to persue in greater detail.

Slave and Forced Labor in the Reich

The horrors of NAZI rule left millions displaced throughout Europe. Many were left displaced within the Reich because of the huge number of foreigners brought into the Reich, many by force, to work in the war industries. Few of these people were Jews. With a few exceptions they were transported to the ghettos established in occupied Poland and eventially to the death camps despite a growing labor shortage. Instead the NAZIs brought in labor from all over occupied Europe to operate the war indutries. Some people volunteered. Large numbers in the West were conscripted. In the West, people were seized in rojndups and brought in as forced labor. As the War went against Germany, more and more workers were conscripted for military service. This greated n invreasing need for foreign forced labor. ,

Death Marches

The SS did begin to bring Jews into the Reich at the end of the War. The Red Army with Operation Bagration broke into Poland (June 1944). As they neared the various camps that the SS had established thrughout Poland, the SS begn to close down and empty them. They did not want to leave large piles of bodies hoping to disguise what they had been doing. Thus the Jews were forced into death marches tgo more secure cmps in the Reich. Those who fell out along the way were shot. This meant that there were not large piles of bodies to be found that would be obviou evidnce of atticities. They were directed to already crowded camps where they were held and expected to die of starvation and diseae. This occurred throughout Germany incamps like Brgen-Belsen and Buchenwald.

DP Camps in Occupied Germany

The Alled DPs camps were primarily opened in Germany after the War. This is where most of the DPs were locatd. Thus displaced persons (DP) camps were opened throughout Germany to assist these people. The purpose was to care for thse people, many wwith serious medical problems, until arrangements could be made to get them home. There were a range of problems. The allies had essentially destroyedthe German transportation system. And the Germans desroyed what the Allies had not as they retreated. In addition, the chaos and destruction the Germans created thoughout Europe meant that they had limited capabilities to care for a massive influx of DPs from the former Reich. In some cases, the camps were open at the former NAZI concentration or labor camps. Special facilities were opened for the most tragic of all the displaced persons--the children. The llied military provided emergency aid. Eventually the task was turned over to the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA).

Situation in Poland

We know less about what occurred in Poland. (A substantial part of what is now Poland was German territory before the War or annexed by Germany during the War.) There were not DP camps in Poland because most Poles had families and homes to go to. Or they could moved into the homesleft by Germans deported from the Western regions. The major favilyites needed in Polanbd ws for the displaced ad orphned children ho lost their parents and had no way of caring for themselves. Here the Church and Polish charitable groups were able to get support from the west.

Surviving Polish Jews

Few Polish Jews survived the Holocaust and in particular few children survived as they were uable to work and were so vulnerable. We note an unidentified center for diplaced Jewish children, but have no details at this time. A HBC reader has sent us this image. The dislocation camp was run by Americans and British charitable groups in Poland (figure 1). We don’t have an exact date, but I would guess it was taken very soon after the War in 1945-47. The children are well dressed and fed. Very few Jewish children managed to survive the Holocaust in Poland. These children are among the very lucky few. Unfortunately we have virtually no inforation about the image. Children rarey survived the Holocaust for a variety of reasons. Small children were less able to survive the deprivation of the ghettos, especially if their parents died. And once transported to the camps, even if not not one of the death camp, they were immediately selected for death because thy were non-workers. We suspect that the children here may have been taken in by sympathetic Christian families duing the NAZI occupation. (A very courageous step.) We are also not sure to what extent the Polish and Communist authorities allowed American and British authorities to operate in Poland after the War. We suspect that many of these children made their way to America or Israel after the War. While Poland became part of the Soviet Empire after the War, We believe that they did facilitate the emigration of Jews. Our reader adds that the children here may be Polish Jews who had already reached the West. These are all topics we need to persue in greater detail.

Polish Jews in Germany

A tragically small number of surviving Jews were found in Germny as thy Allied and Soviet Armies converged to destroy the NAZI Reich. And this included few children. But there were some. And each one has his or her own special story. The Jews in the DP camps proved a special problem. The primary objective pursed by UNRRA was to get the DPs home as soon as possible. This proved impossible for the Jews, escpecially the Jews from Poland and oher East Bloc countries. Here, however, tragically their families and communities had totall destroyed. They had no one or no place to return to. Their were even attacks on Jews that tried to do so. Many Jews also did not want to return to a Comminist country. In some cases this was because of deep-seeded attitudes toward Russian anti-Semitim. As a result most Jews resisted initial UNRRA to send them home. Because of the special problems associated with Jews, UNRAA set up separate falities for them. Many wanted to go to either America or Palistine. And this also created problemms. America had restricted immigration policies. Here there was no religious test, but the Jewish DPs had to compete wuth others for the various national quotas. This was in the process of being changed, but immediately after the War it was difficult to get into America. Britain still controlledPalistine and to placate the rabs were resticting Jewish immigration. Thus as UNRAA got more and more of the DPs home, most of the Jews remained in the camps.





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Created: 6:10 PM 2/22/2008
Last updated: 12:07 PM 10/17/2015