Loss and Liberation

The first Nazi camp to be liberated was the Majdanek death camp in July 1944. Over the following months, Allied forces liberated more camps across Europe, shocked at what they found. Liberation meant a chance at survival, but for many it came too late. Thousands of liberated Jews continued to die from the effects of starvation, disease and exhaustion. 

The effects of persecution did not end upon liberation from the camps. Survivors felt relief, and even joy, but also confusion and loneliness. Liberation was the start of a difficult and uncertain path. Desperate searches for their families revealed that most were the sole survivors. After years of abuse and degradation, they had to face the loss of everything they had ever known. For many, it was impossible to return to normal life. 

There were few places for survivors to go after liberation. Their homes had been taken by others or destroyed in the war. Those who did return home often found nothing left—no family, community or belongings. In some places, such as Poland, returning survivors were violently attacked and killed by locals. Because of this hostility and the losses they had suffered, most survivors hoped to leave Europe, if they could. 

The Allies quickly set up displaced persons (DP) camps, often on the sites of former concentration camps. About 250,000 Jewish survivors lived in DP camps between 1945 and 1952, waiting for visas to emigrate. The DP camps became vibrant places of activity as survivors tried to rebuild their lives. They got married, had children and trained for jobs. They celebrated religious holidays, revived their culture and all the while searched for lost family.