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ARTIFACTS
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MAPS
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Historical Artifacts

Beba was one of many Holocaust survivors who did not want to return to the ruins of their former communities in Europe. But it wasn’t so easy to find a new home. Many had to spend years in refugee camps, waiting for immigration visas.

Please note that artifacts open in a new window. To return to this list just close the artifact detail tab in your browser. Unless otherwise stated, all artifacts featured in the exhibition come from the YIVO Archives and Library collections.

Were Holocaust Survivors Welcomed in America?

Scholar Text by Roberta Newman

A Letter in typed Yiddish from Lasar to Beba
“I promise you I will make every effort, and in that regard, I am wealthy enough.”

New York, United States, 1945. Letter from Lasar to Beba

First page of a letter in Yiddish from Paul Olberg to Lasar
“As I’ve already telegraphed you, the American consulate found [her case] too weak.”

Stockholm, Sweden, 1946. Letter from Paul Olberg to Lasar

Children arriving in America on a large ship
Jewish refugee children arriving in U.S.

United States, 1945. Refugees Arriving

Crowds of refugees in a DP camp in Italy
Crowd of adults and children at a DP Camp in Italy

Gruliasco, Italy, Circa 1940s. Gruliasco DP Camp in Italy

Refugees departing by train for America
Refugees departing from a DP camp

Stuttgart, Germany, 1946. Leaving a DP Camp

Mass exhumation of grave
Exhumation of mass grave of Jews

Częstochowa, Poland, 1947. Mass Grave Exhumation

A rally in NYC demanding immigration quota changes for refugees
Rally calling for immigration policy changes

New York, United States, 1947. Pro-Immigration Rally

Group Photograph of Jewish Refugees
Jewish refugees in Sweden

Sweden, 1947. Group Photograph of Refugees

USNA staff welcoming a refugee family
USNA staff greeting newly arrived immigrants

United States, Circa 1947. Arrival of Holocaust Survivors

Photograph of demonstrators marching with signs
Demonstration calling for free immigration to Palestine

Cremona, Italy, Circa 1947. Free Immigration to Palestine

Holocaust survivors outside of HIAS with suitcases
Holocaust survivors at HIAS office in NY

New York, United States, Circa 1948. HIAS Office

How come you don’t know who Israel Epstein is?

Podcast, 2019, 50 minutes

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Historical Maps

After the Holocaust, many survivors chose to immigrate. The majority went to the United States or the newly formed state of Israel, which was established in 1948.

Jewish Immigration after World War II

The majority of Jewish Holocaust survivors immigrated either to the United States or to the newly formed state of Israel. By 1950, 51% of the Jewish world population lived in the Americas (North and South combined). Approximately 100,000 Jews who survived the Holocaust immigrated to the United States between 1945 and 1952. About 700,000 immigrated to Israel between 1948 and 1951.

Map of Jewish Immigration after World War II

Immigration Matters

The impact of World War II on the Jews of Europe was horrific. Millions murdered, entire families wiped out, and whole communities destroyed. Survivors found it nearly impossible to return home. In most cases, there was no one and nothing left. Many Jews had also been informed on by their non-Jewish neighbors when the Germans were seeking those who were hiding. Jews were not eager to live among those neighbors again. There were millions of refugees and displaced persons looking for new homes. Beba was one of them.

This experience will take approximately 15 minutes.
1945
1945
United Nations established

Rescued by the British Army, Beba finds herself in a hospital in Sweden.

After all the ordeals she’s been through she doesn’t want to go back to Poland or Russia. She also doesn’t want to go to Palestine like many of the other surviving Jews.

Beba remembers that her father once said:

“If you ever need help, contact the Jewish Daily Forward in New York. Your Uncle Lasar has a connection with them.”

Sweden, Helsingborg
July 28, 1945
To: Forward Editorial

Esteemed Herr Editor!

This letter to you is being written by someone you don’t know. I’m writing to you with a request and hope that you will help me achieve it. As you can see I am writing from Sweden, but I myself am from Poland - from Vilna. I’ve survived various concentration camps in Germany but have lost my entire family and all my friends. I was very sick and as a result the British government sent me to Sweden to heal. I am well by now and I want to find my relatives in America. To that end I am asking you, Honorable Editor Sir, to help me. I am looking for my uncles, Lasar Epstein and Isaac.

Lasar Epsein arrived in America several years ago from China (Tian Shan). As far as I know he wrote for the Forverts and was a co-worker at YIVO and even lectured there. My uncle Lasar Epstein is my closest and most loved relative. Next to him is his brother Isaac Epstein. As far as I know, he lives in NY. These clues are probably not enough to find people in America. I also have an uncle in Montreal, Canada. His name is Sender Senitsky. He is a teacher by calling and was also a co-worker at YIVO. He left Vilna to go to his mother-in-law’s parents who live in Montreal.

Please send me the exact addresses or any information of my relatives. You can also write to me in English as I’m quite good at languages. Please write in care of the Stockholm’s Rabbi’s address whom I keep in contact with.

His address is:

Rabbi Jacobson
Stockholm
Odengatan 28
Sverige (par avion)

Awaiting your reply on which all my hopes depend.

With esteem,
Beba Epstein

20 years


Soon after, in Palestine, a friend of her Uncle Lasar was listening to the radio and heard something that alerted him…

Ready to test your knowledge?

Beba sails for a new life in the United States. Nothing will ever make up for all the horrors and losses she has been through. But there is hope for a new beginning.

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