The human consequences
The human consequences
The human toll
Movements of population
Agreement Concerning the Care and Repatriation of Displaced Persons (February 1945)
TextOn 13 February 1945 in London, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) and representatives of the seven European Allied Governments sign an Agreement Concerning the Care and Repatriation of Displaced Persons.
Report by the United States War Department on the situation of displaced persons (5 July 1945)
TextOn 5 July 1945, the US War Department issues an alarming report on the situation of refugees in Europe and Germany in the aftermath of the Second World War and describes the measures taken by the Allies to help displaced persons.
‘The refugee problem' from the Deutsche Volkszeitung (24 July 1945)
TextOn 24 July 1945, the Deutsche Volkszeitung, periodical of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Germany, focuses on the difficult issue of the fate of German refugees.
Cartoon by Low on the refugee problem in Berlin (21 August 1945)
ImageOn 21 August 1945, shortly after the end of the Second World War, British cartoonist David Low illustrates the difficulties experienced by the Allied Control Council in managing the mass movement of refugees and displaced persons in Berlin.
Poster published by the National Federation of Deported and Imprisoned Resistance Fighters and Patriots (FNDIRP) (1945)
ImagePoster published by the National Federation of Deported and Imprisoned Resistance Fighters and Patriots (FNDIRP) in 1945 in response to the war and deportation.
'The trains of misery' from Le Monde (30 October 1945)
TextOn 30 October 1945, the French daily newspaper Le Monde describes the scenes of desolation at German railway stations that have been partly destroyed by the Allied bombings.
Cartoon by Szewczuk on the difficult situation of German refugees (28 February 1946)
Image‘Home to the Reich …' On 28 February 1946, illustrating the terrible human consequences of the Second World War, cartoonist Mirko Szewczuk employs the expression used in Nazi propaganda, Heim ins Reich, in ironic fashion to illustrate the mass exodus of German refugees fleeing the Soviet army towards the Western zones of occupation in Germany.
'The mountain of misery' from the Süddeutsche Zeitung (19 November 1946)
TextOn 19 November 1946, the Bavarian daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung paints a catastrophic picture of the humanitarian situation in devastated Germany and launches an appeal for Christian charity.
Statistics on displaced persons housed in assembly centres in Germany (January 1947)
TextStatistics on displaced persons housed in assembly centres in the US, British and French occupation zones in Germany in January 1947.
Summary of the current situation of displaced persons in Allied assembly centres in Germany (7 February 1947)
TableIn February 1947, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) paints a bleak picture of the situation of displaced persons accommodated in assembly centres in the British, American and French occupation zones in Germany.
‘The United Nations and the refugee problem' from Le Monde (6 May 1947)
TextOn 6 May 1947, the French daily newspaper Le Monde paints a dramatic picture of the refugee situation in a war-torn Europe and describes the resources used by the United Nations to come to the aid of displaced persons.
German refugees
ImageThe first mass movements begin with the advance of the Red Army westward. At the end of the Second World War, West Germany has to accommodate some 12 million refugees.
‘No hope for refugees?' from Die Welt (25 October 1947)
TextOn 25 October 1947, the German daily newspaper Die Welt paints an alarming picture of the refugee situation in Germany.
Displaced persons' camp for refugees (1950)
ImageOne of the major challenges faced by post-war Germany was the accommodation of German civilian refugees fleeing from areas east of the Oder-Neisse Line and their economic and social integration.
Recommendations adopted by the International Conference of the League of Red Cross Societies on the problem of refugees in western Germany and Austria (Hanover, 9–14 April 1951)
TextFrom 9 to 14 April 1951, an international conference is held in Hanover, convened by the League of Red Cross Societies. The conference is attended by representatives from the 17 national societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the League of Red Cross Societies, to examine the problem of the 9 million refugees in western Germany and Austria. At the conference, 17 recommendations are adopted to establish solutions that will enable refugees and exiles to build new lives.
Act on the Status of Displaced Aliens in the Federal Republic of Germany (25 April 1951)
TextOn 25 April 1951, the Federal Government adopts a law which determines the status of foreign refugees in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Address given by Hans Lukaschek (2 November 1951)
TextOn 2 November 1951, on the occasion of the departure of the one millionth displaced person from the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) to his native land, Hans Lukaschek, West German Minister for Displaced Persons, summarises the achievements of the campaign carried out by the International Organisation for Refugees in Europe.
Report from the Council of Europe on the refugee problem (Strasbourg, 1953)
TextIn 1953, the Council of Europe publishes a report in which it analyses the problem of refugees and excess population in Europe.
Post-war German population movements
TextIn 1966, the West German Ministry of Refugees and Displaced Persons publishes statistical and graphical data illustrating German population movements, whether voluntary or enforced, in the aftermath of the Second World War.
The genocide of the Jews: Holocaust
Aerial view of the Auschwitz concentration camp (Poland, 25 August 1944)
ImageAerial photograph taken on 25 August 1944 of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, the largest of the Nazi concentration camp complexes.
Aerial view of Birkenau concentration camp showing the gas chambers (Poland, 25 August 1944)
ImageOn 25 August 1944, the US Central Intelligence Agency services take this aerial photo of the Nazi extermination camp in Birkenau, Poland, showing a group of prisoners on their way to the gas chambers.
Aerial view of Birkenau Concentration Camp (Poland, 13 September 1944)
ImageOn 13 September 1944, the US Central Intelligence Agency services take this aerial photo of the Nazi concentration camp in Birkenau, Poland.
Nordhausen concentration camp (Germany, 12 April 1945)
ImagePhotograph taken on 12 April 1945 showing the last victims of the Nordhausen Nazi concentration camp, a sub-camp of the Mittelbau Dora concentration camp complex (Germany).
Buchenwald concentration camp (Germany, 16 April 1945)
ImageThree prisoners of Russian, Polish and Dutch origin, ‘survivors’ of the Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp in April 1945.
The genocide of the Jews: Holocaust
Cartoon by Behrendt on the Final Solution
Image‘It wasn't us, Guv!' In April 1961, Fritz Behrendt, German cartoonist, denounces the defence put forward by Karl Adolf Eichmann — former Nazi Head of the Department for Jewish Affairs in the Reich Central Security Office (RHSA) and architect of the Final Solution during the Second World War — when tried for crimes against humanity before the court in Jerusalem.