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The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is supported by The Jewish Federations of North America.

Everything Possible: JDC and the Children of the DP Camps

Bet Bialik, a former concentration camp renamed for a beloved Hebrew poet, was one of the centers established by the U.S. Army and UNRRA in the summer of 1946 to house the overflow of thousands of Polish Jews pouring into Salzburg. It immediately became overcrowded, too. Austria, c. 1948. Muddy, dusty “streets” were a common sight in camps like Bet Bialik. Austria, c. 1947. Once immigration to Israel opened up, camps in Austria started closing. Hallein, a former forced labor camp, became the Austrian collection point for those remaining, a vast majority of them Hungarian Jews. Space in the camp remained tight: one ramshackle section of a plywood barracks served as the laundry, washroom, kitchen, playroom, and dining room for this family. Austria, c. 1951-53, Jan Breit. In the cramped, sparse living quarters of Riedenburg camp, an empty crate served as the table. Austria, c. 1947.

Making Do

Privacy and space were rarest amenities in the camps. Yet camp residents made room for newcomers.
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