Jewish refugee after release from concentration camp. Germany 1945. Still images by Paul Goldfinger from the Simon Wiesenthal documentary about refugee history after WWII. “The Long Way Home.” Streaming on Prime.
Many children were found, now orphans, when the camps were liberated by American soldiers in Germany.
Refugees stream out of destroyed Eastern European city. 1945. Despite millions of deaths, there were many survivors. Paul Goldfinger still photo. Click once to enlarge.
After WWII ended in Europe, millions of homeless, sick, bereft, malnourished, distraught , and hungry refugees wandered all over while the Allies tried to help them. This man is still wearing his concentration camp garb. It took years to sort out the chaos of people and places.
Many got to return to their homelands including Poles, Lithuanians, Hungarians, Italians, etc. Only the Jews had no homeland to reunite with. Eventually many were repatriated to Israel which became a state in 1948–the only country in Europe where no one would kill Jewish survivors and where they could begin to recreate their nation from 3,500 years before. During all those years there was always an unbroken Jewish presence in the Holy Land.
These still images by Paul Goldfinger are from the Simon Wiesenthal documentary about this post-war period of 1945-1948. It is streaming now on Prime for free.
“The Proposal:”
For anyone who wants to understand the nation of Israel now, you must view the documentary on Prime: “The Long Way Home.”