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The last million : Europe's displaced persons from World War to Cold War / David Nasaw.
"In May of 1945, German forces surrendered to the Allied powers, effectively putting an end to World War II in Europe. But the aftershocks of this global military conflict did not cease with the signing of truces and peace treaties. Millions of lost and homeless POWs, slave laborers, political prisoners, and concentration camp survivors overwhelmed Germany, a country in complete disarray. British and American soldiers gathered the malnourished and desperate foreigners, and attempted to repatriate them to Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and the USSR. But after exhaustive efforts, there remained over a million displaced persons who either refused to go home or, in the case of many, had no home to which to return. They would spend the next three to five years in displaced persons camps, divided by nationalities, temporary homelands in exile, with their own police forces, churches, schools, newspapers, and medical facilities. The international community couldn't agree on the fate of the Last Million, and after a year of fruitless debate and inaction, an International Refugee Organization was created to resettle them in lands suffering from labor shortages. But no nations were willing to accept the 200,000 to 250,000 Jewish men, women, and children who remained trapped in Germany. In 1948, the United States, among the last countries to accept anyone for resettlement, finally passed a Displaced Persons Bill - but as Cold War fears supplanted memories of WWII atrocities, the bill only granted visas to those who were reliably anti-communist, including thousands of former Nazi collaborators, Waffen-SS members, and war criminals, while barring the Jews who were suspected of being Communist sympathizers or agents because they had been recent residents of Soviet-dominated Poland. Only after the passage of the controversial UN resolution for the partition of Palestine and Israel's declaration of independence were the remaining Jewish survivors finally able to leave their displaced persons camps in Germany."-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781594206733 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: xi, 654 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm
- Publisher: New York : Penguin Press, 2020.
Content descriptions
| Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Formatted Contents Note: | From Poland: Forced Laborers, 1941-45 -- From Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Western Ukraine -- From the Concentration and Death Camps -- Alone, Abandoned, Determined, the She'erit Hapletah Organizes -- The Harrison Mission, Report -- The U.S., the UK, the USSR, and UNRRA -- Inside the DP Camps -- "The War Department Is Very Anxious" -- "U.S. Begins Purge in German Camps. Will Weed Out Nazis, Fascist Sympathizers and Criminals Among Displaced Persons," New York Times, March 10, 1946 -- The Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry Issues Its Report -- The Polish Jews Escape into Germany -- Fiorello La Guardia to the Rescue -- The Death of UNRRA -- "Send Them Here," Life Magazine, September 23, 1946 -- Fact-Finding in Europe -- "The Best Migrant Types" -- "So Difficult of Solution": Jewish Displaced Persons -- "Jewish Immigration Is the Central Issue in Palestine Today" -- "A Noxious Mess Which Defies Digestion" -- "A Shameful Victory for [the] School of Bigotry" -- "Get These People Moving" -- "The Utilization of Refugees from the Soviet Union in the U.S. National Interest" -- The Displaced Persons Act of 1950 -- McCarran's Internal Security Act Restricts the Entry of Communist Subversives -- "The Nazis Come In" -- The Gates Open Wide -- Aftermaths. |
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| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeshore Branch | 940.53145 Nas | 31681010208627 | NONFIC | Available | - |
- Baker & Taylor
Documents the experiences of the Last Million concentration camp survivors, POWs, slave laborers and political prisoners after World War II who spent years as displaced refugees in unsupported, segregated and poorly converted buildings while the worldâs nations refused shelter. Illustrations. Maps. - Baker & Taylor
Documents the experiences and fates of the one million concentration camp survivors, POWs, slave laborers and political prisoners left in Germany after World War II who spent years as displaced refugees in unsupported, segregated, and poorly converted buildings while the world's nations refused shelter. - Penguin Putnam
From bestselling author David Nasaw, a sweeping new history of the one million refugees left behind in Germany after WWII
In May 1945, German forces surrendered to the Allied powers, putting an end to World War II in Europe. But the aftershocks of global military conflict did not cease with the German capitulation. Millions of lost and homeless concentration camp survivors, POWs, slave laborers, political prisoners, and Nazi collaborators in flight from the Red Army overwhelmed Germany, a nation in ruins. British and American soldiers gathered the malnourished and desperate refugees and attempted to repatriate them. But after exhaustive efforts, there remained more than a million displaced persons left behind in Germany: Jews, Poles, Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, and other Eastern Europeans who refused to go home or had no homes to return to. The Last Million would spend the next three to five years in displaced persons camps, temporary homelands in exile divided by nationality, with their own police forces, churches and synagogues, schools, newspapers, theaters, and infirmaries.
The international community could not agree on the fate of the Last Million, and after a year of debate and inaction, the International Refugee Organization was created to resettle them in lands suffering from postwar labor shortages. But no nations were willing to accept the 200,000 to 250,000 Jewish men, women, and children who remained trapped in Germany. In 1948, the United States, among the last countries to accept refugees for resettlement, finally passed a displaced persons bill. With Cold War fears supplanting memories of World War II atrocities, the bill granted the vast majority of visas to those who were reliably anti-Communist, including thousands of former Nazi collaborators and war criminals, while severely limiting the entry of Jews, who were suspected of being Communist sympathizers or agents because they had been recent residents of Soviet-dominated Poland. Only after the controversial partition of Palestine and Israel's declaration of independence were the remaining Jewish survivors able to leave their displaced persons camps in Germany.
A masterwork from acclaimed historian David Nasaw, The Last Million tells the gripping yet until now largely hidden story of postwar displacement and statelessness. By 1952, the Last Million were scattered around the world. As they crossed from their broken past into an unknowable future, they carried with them their wounds, their fears, their hope, and their secrets. Here for the first time, Nasaw illuminates their incredible history and, with profound contemporary resonance, shows us that it is our history as well.
