“It Was the Saddest Day of My Life” – The First Days of Liberation
During 1944-1945, towards the end of World War II, Soviet, British and U.S. soldiers rescued what remained of European Jewry from the various labor, concentration and extermination camps. The liberation entailed mixed feelings for the survivors, ranging from happiness to sadness, from a sense of a new beginning to grief over their immense personal loss.
During the first weeks of liberation, survivors suffered from severe malnutrition, disease, and a difficult emotional state. For thousands, the liberation had arrived too late, and they died of illness, exhaustion and sometimes from overeating. Many of the survivors had lost most of their families.
“What to Do Now? After All, Life Must Go On” – Loneliness and the Search for New Meaning
During the war, the difficulties of daily life and the constant struggle to stay alive did not leave much room to think about the fate of family members. Many of the survivors who had lost loved ones during the Holocaust only began confronted the enormity of their loss after liberation. This liberation closed one tragic circle, but opened a new set of difficulties: after years of physical torment and fear, survivors now had to face the loss of their old world. They had to bid a final farewell to their parents, partners, children, homes, cities, and world - their entire identity.
“We Jews - No One Was Waiting For Us ” – Where To?
Many of the survivors attempted to return to their prewar homes, as soon as their physical condition allowed so. This often brought great frustration and disappointment. Returning home often involved a long and perilous journey. War-torn Europe remained in utter chaos. Basic transportation lacked, and was often dangerous. When the survivors reached their old homes, they had to confront a new reality. In most cases, there was no one there waiting for them. In others, there was another family member roaming amongst the rubble. In those few cases when couples found each other, child found parent, brother found sister etc., the small fraction of Jews who survived served as a testament to the enormity of the loss and the finality of the disaster. While the local population attempted to rebuilt itself and was counting the dead, Jews were counting the living.
“He Remembers Yesterday and Misses Tomorrow” – The Displaced Persons’ Camps
After the end of the war, Displaced Persons’ (DP) camps were set up by the allies in Germany, Austria and Italy, for Jews and non-Jews. Life in the DP camps was difficult, crowded, with no privacy, and often with little to do and a strong sense of emptiness. Nevertheless, the the story of the DP camps represents an important chapter in the renewal of the Jewish people as a individuals and as a group. The attempt to recover from the personal, familial and social loss manifested itself in starting new families, a strong desire to study and learn a craft, and in establishing communities in the camps with widespread social, cultural, political and religious activity.
A New Home: “I waited a long time for the day I can land in a free country”
Holocaust survivors in the DP camps focused their efforts on emigrating from Europe and starting a new life. Two thirds of the survivors immigrated to pre-state Israel. The remaining third immigrated to the United States and various other western countries. Their absorption in Eretz Israel involved many difficulties, which also characterized the first years of the State. Despite these difficulties, the survivors displayed remarkable absorption capabilities, and with time become an integral component of Israeli society.
