Displaced Persons Camps

As World War II drew to a close, JDC marshalled its forces to meet a crisis of staggering proportions, racing to ensure that tens of thousands of newly liberated Jews would survive to enjoy the fruits of freedom. By late 1945, some 75,000 Jewish survivors of the Nazi horrors had crowded into the displaced-persons (DP) camps that were hastily set up in Germany, Austria, and Italy. Conditions were abominable, with many subjected to anti-Semitism and hostile treatment.

2021 JDC Archives Fellows Announced

News

The JDC Archives is pleased to announce that it has awarded six new fellowships for 2021. JDC Archives Fellowships are awarded each year to deserving scholars engaged in graduate level, post-doctoral, or independent study to conduct research in the JDC Archives—either...

Overcoming Obstacles to Freedom

My Story

Miriam Keesing recalls her family’s wartime journey from the Netherlands. “You must not worry too much about us, we are well protected, England and France are helping us, so everything will be all right.” After some chit-chat, my grandmother, Marianne Keesing, devoted...

Prevention & Partnership: Launch of JDC’s Virtual Public Health Exhibit

News

We are excited to announce a new virtual exhibit, entitled “Prevention & Partnership: JDC’s Contributions to Public Health.” The exhibit explores JDC assistance in fighting epidemics and promoting global health, with special sections devoted to profiling public health...

Distribution of Religious Items

From the Collections

Products of Ceramic Workshop of “the Joint” in Germany With the passage of time, items that were distributed have morphed into organizational heirlooms imprinted with the JDC legacy. Nowhere is this more evident than with religious materials JDC manufactured and...

The Joint and the Casa Dello Studente

My Story

Getting a new lease on life in postwar Italy My parents William and Pearl Good (formerly Wowka Zev Gdud and Perela Esterowicz) were born in Vilna, Poland (now Vilnius, Lithuania), which was a vibrant center of Jewish life and culture before the war. Out of the 100,000...

JDC Archives Historic Films in Action

For Researchers

How filmmakers have utilized JDC’s historic films Since the 1920s, JDC has documented its work, commissioning films of its relief operations and the historic circumstances to which it responded through audiovisual media. These rare films constitute unique eyewitness...

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Young people being shown how to transplant seedlings in a JDC sponsored training class at the Bergen-Belsen DP camp.

The care of orphaned children became a top priority for JDC. These Polish orphans came via Czechoslovakia to a transient camp in Vienna. After their immediate need for rest, food, clothing, and medical attention was addressed, orphans were sent to JDC children’s homes in France, Switzerland, England, and other countries when possible. Others were placed in separate children’s sections of the DP camps. Austria, c. 1946.

At a JDC-sponsored medical dispensary in Munich, children were inoculated against contagious diseases--a vital part of the health program. Germany, c. 1949.

These young boys received religious instruction at the yeshiva in Wels camp. Rabbis and teachers instructing the Jewish youngsters received special compensation from JDC. Austria, c. 1948.

During the war, Babenhausen was a crude barracks used to hold prisoners. The first Jews arriving there, in late September 1946, still faced deplorable conditions. JDC representatives met them with supplementary food and clothing and immediately began efforts to obtain better lodgings for the winter, especially for families with small children. By the time this Polish mother and her children arrived, a substantial community with several schools had been established. Germany, c. 1947.

In Vienna, too, a seemingly endless flood of Jewish survivors from Poland, then Romania, streamed in from Eastern Europe, overloading the established camps. JDC helped transform the dilapidated Rothschild Hospital into a makeshift camp and lobbied UNRRA to absorb it into the DP camp network. Normally housing 600, every inch of space was used to make room for the thousands of refugees heading towards the more permanent camps in Austria or Germany. Austria, c. 1947.

Students in Riedenburg camp's Hebrew School studied the "Shema" prayer, Austria, c. 1947, Jan Breit.

By September 1945, JDC had been given official sanction to aid in the DP camps, and its teams had begun to arrive. In Bamberg, JDC’s headquarters were noted on the U.S. Army camp sign. Germany, c. 1946, Al Taylor.

Foehrenwald had been one of the best-run. It became the last to close, functioning until 1957 as a home for those with no place to go. JDC maintained a presence there until 1954, helping residents financially until the end, but camp oversight was transferred to the German government by the end of 1951. Germany, c. 1951, Al Taylor.

Two refugees born in flight from Poland were held by their proud fathers in Vienna. At all stages of their journey, they received JDC assistance. Their well-being would be looked after in the more stable environment of a "permanent" camp, with supplementary food, medical and child care services provided by JDC. Austria, c. 1946.

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