in the Aftermath of World War II there were over 10 million Displaced Persons in Germany. These people included forced laborers, prisoners of war and Jews who had been forced into concentration camps as part of the “Final Solution”. For most of these people the decision on what to do once they were liberated was relatively easy, they would return home wherever that may be. For the 50,000 Jewish people in concentration camps and forced labor camps across the German Empire this decision was not so easy.
European Jews, especially those who had lived within Germany and the lands invaded by the Germans during the war faced problems unique to their circumstances. While most displaced persons had a home to return to or at least some remaining family members to go live with until they got on their feet after the war most European Jews did not. The Germans had basically wiped out the entire Jewish population within the Empire so the only survivors were those who survived the concentration camps until they were liberated. when the war ended and they were “liberated” many Jews did not know where to go. Along with having no home to return to most of the survivors of concentration camps were young people, teenagers and young adults who had no parents or family to lead them. “The earliest weeks following liberation and for years thereafter in which the proportion of Jewish DPs between the ages of fifteen and thirty was consistently estimated at more than half and often above 80 percent of the total Jewish population.” Patt claims that the reason for this startling statistic is that ” Avoiding the death sentence demanded quickness of foot and wit, audacity, adaptability, physical stamina, and the ability to blend inconspicuously into often hostile surroundings (in addition to no small measure of luck). Those qualities generally tend to be present in greater measure among the young than among their elders.” This leaves mostly young people without mature adults to advise them on a proper course of action following liberation.
The surviving Jews in Germany had a decision to make, they could either return home or migrate to Palestine where many Jews were being relocated in anticipation of a Jewish state (Israel). The third option which many of the young Jews who lacked direction chose was to remain where they were. Patt says that Baltic and Polish Jews were the least likely to return to their home countries perhaps due to higher rates of death among Jews in these areas. On the other hand Jews from Hungary, Romania, France and Germany were far more likely to return home. I find it odd that Hungary and Romania are included in this category due to the Soviet influence in these areas and the fact that not only Jews but other DP’s from the Soviet Bloc were not returning there due to lack of confidence in “socialist reconstruction.” An explanation for this may be that Soviet influenced countries were demanding that their DPs be returned to them to bolster their reconstruction workforce. France and Greece on the other hand seem to make sense as more western and “accepting” societies that would likely be more accepting, and they were also looking to strengthen their workforce’s as well.
Many Jews were active in a movement that would push for the creation of a Jewish State in the British Mandate of Palestine. Earl Harrison Was the Dean of the Law School at the University of Pennsylvania and in 1945 was tasked with assessing the Jewish population in refugee camps across Europe. Harrison was appalled at the conditions Jews were still living in after liberation. He even goes so far as to say that we were “treating the Jews as the Nazis treated them except that we do not exterminate them.” As a result of his time investigating these camps Harrison suggested that to resolve these issues 100,000 immigration certificates to Palestine be granted to Jews immediately. Truman Approved this in early 1946 and then in October of the same year announced his support of the creation of the Jewish state in Palestine. The dream of many Jews to have their own state or homeland was realized in May 1948 with Resolution 181 being passed by the United Nations. The resolutions separated the British mandate of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states with the holy city of Jerusalem under neutral control of the UN.
Those Jews who selected the option of staying in the refugee camps after the war often did not fair very well. They were subject to less than ideal living conditions and in some case if they stayed long enough they came to be under the control of one military or the other and their option to leave the camp was restricted. Many of the Jews that chose to stay where they were were the young ones who had been orphaned in the concentration camps and had nowhere to go. In the end many of these Jews were given immigration certificates and migrated to Israel.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/creation-israel
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I like how you make a point to explain that most of the Jews had choices, but they really didn’t have a choice of where to go. I like the way you formatted this article and you made it really interesting to read.