Abstract

This footage was shot by the U.S. Army Signal Corps in June 1945 at a camp for Jewish Displaced Persons (DP) in Wetzlar in the American occupation zone. In the American zone, DP camps were set up by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) and the U.S. Army in order to care for survivors of concentration camps and forced labor units, most of whom came from Eastern Europe. UNRRA had been established in 1943 as the first international organization to respond to the displacement of millions of people during the Second World War, and it remained in charge of relief for DPs until 1947, when the International Refugee Organization (IRO) took over. In the clips featured here, we see male DPs marching and doing physical exercises under the supervision of an UNRRA officer. There also were a large number of children in the camp, who are shown playing, eating, and receiving some basic education. A truckload of vegetables is delivered to the camp, and we see women at work in the kitchens. Accommodations for men set up in a former garage are being inspected. The final shot shows the camp hospital where those too sick to participate in daily activities are being cared for.

A DP Camp in Wetzlar (June 1945)

Source

Source: UNRRA at Displaced Persons Camp Wetzlar, Germany. 14-15 June, 1945. NARA. NAID: 18612