Displaced Persons (DP)

At the end of the war, there were 8-9 million displaced persons (abducted/injured persons) and refugees in West Germany, Berlin and Austria. Roughly 2,500 displaced persons camps provided shelter for those affected. The various relief agencies and reconstruction institutes were able to repatriate between 6 and 7 million people, and help ca. 1.5 million people to emigrate to other countries, such as Israel, Canada, USA, etc.

UNRRA and IRO registrations are made up of lists, medical records and books, files and questionnaires. Some of the information contained in the records was given personally by the DP.

Registration was aimed at helping to find missing persons. However, the registrations later took on a whole new meaning, in reference to the deadline of 1.1.1947. In accordance with the West German Federal Indemnification Law, Jewish applicants needed the registration to assert their claims for compensation.  The authorities used the registrations to identify the federal state responsible for payment of compensation. The Indemnification Law determined this to be the state in which the applicant was staying on 1.1.1947.