Figure 1.--Here we see a group of Polish DP Jews in Berlin. We do not have their stories, but they seemed to have decided to get out of the Sovier occupation zone and get to the American occiupation zone of West Berlin. The press photograph is undated, but we woul guess was talen about December 1945. In the period just after the War, it was fairly easy to move back and forth betweem the soviet and Allied occupation zones. The press caption read, "Missing Polish Jews turn up in American sector: The Polish Jews who disappeared from the crowded hostel in the Russian sector of Berlin a few days ago have now appeared in the U.S. sector. Within two days comfortable qurters hve been organized for them in what omnce was yhe Headquarters of the German High Command [meaning OKW]. 800 people have arived so far and the care they receive contrasts greatly with their situation in Oranienstrasse few days ago. They are given food and one room to no more than four prople. They have medical attention and receive food cards, blankets, and a billeting card." we suspect tht more may have been involved than poor accomodations. The Soviets probably did not provide any special attention to Jews. We are nor sure how they were getting along with the other DPs in the Soviet facility. The Soviets also may have been trying to return them to Poland. Soviet policy was to downplay The NAZI targetting of Jews.

A tragically small number of surviving Jews were found in Germny as thy Allied and Soviet Armies converged to destroy the NAZI Reich. And this included few children. But there were some. And each one has his or her own special story. The Jews in the DP camps proved a special problem. The primary objective pursed by UNRRA was to get the DPs home as soon as possible. This proved impossible for the Jews, escpecially the Jews from Poland and oher East Bloc countries. Here, however, tragically their families and communities had totall destroyed. They had no one or no place to return to. Their were even attacks on Jews that tried to do so. Many Jews also did not want to return to a Comminist country. In some cases this was because of deep-seeded attitudes toward Russian anti-Semitim. As a result most Jews resisted initial UNRRA to send them home. Because of the special problems associated with Jews, UNRAA set up separate falities for them. Many wanted to go to either America or Palistine. And this also created problemms. America had restricted immigration policies. Here there was no religious test, but the Jewish DPs had to compete wuth others for the various national quotas. This was in the process of being changed, but immediately after the War it was difficult to get into America. Britain still controlled Palistine and to placate the rabs were resticting Jewish immigration. Thus as UNRAA got more and more of the DPs home, most of the Jews remained in the camps.

Created: 5:09 PM 10/17/2015
Last updated: 5:09 PM 10/17/2015