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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.
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