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.

JDC Geneva 1955-1964 Collection Now Digitized

News

The JDC Archives is pleased to announce that its landmark Geneva 1955-1964 Collection, which documents JDC’s immense relief and reconstruction initiatives for global Jewish communities in the aftermath of the Holocaust and in response to this era’s geopolitical...

Interning, COVID-19 style

For Researchers

Archives intern recounts how work continued despite world upheaval Last spring, as everything in NYC was shutting down, I was starting something new: an internship at the JDC Archives working with the Artifacts and Ephemera Collection. The internship capped off my...

An Illuminated Manuscript

From the Collections

Commemorative album captures vibrancy of Hungarian Jewish community on eve of World War II A commemorative album from the Hungarian Jewish community celebrates JDC's 25th anniversary in 1939, decorated with watercolor drawings designed by A. Rosti. Each page of the...

Found on Film

My Story

Finding a mother and aunt in a JDC historical film It’s not every day that you watch an historical film and can say with confidence “I know that person!” But for Joan Boreen, that’s exactly what happened. Faced with an exceedingly great amount of time to spend at home...

James Wooten’s Home Movies

From the Collections

Rare Footage of Yemenite Jewry in Aden Now Digitized Home movies are usually only entertaining for the family viewing them, but in the case of two 16-millimeter film reels recorded by James Wooten and donated to the JDC Archives by his daughter and granddaughter, it’s...

Fourth JDC Archives Documentary Film Grant Awarded

News

IRMI is a personal tale of resilience and strength. JDC’s Global Archives today announced that IRMI, a documentary produced by Veronica Selver about her dynamic and resilient mother, Irmi Selver, was awarded the 2020 JDC Archives Documentary Film Grant. Based on...

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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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A Tale of Two Photographs

An emigration tale from "Down Under" Polonsky Family, Nikopol, Ukraine, April 1909 Back L-R: Jack (1892), Yochanan (1886), Aron (1890), Yechezkiel (1894) Seated L-R: Raphael (1885), Chassia (mother, 1862), Ephraim (father, 1860), Mechlia (1884), Myer (1880) At front...

Records of JDC Postwar Czechoslovakia Offices Now Available

The JDC Archives is pleased to announce the completion of a major cataloging project, the records of JDC’s Czechoslovakia offices, 1945-1950, the period immediately after World War II until JDC was forced to leave the country by the communist government in January...