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Home Displaced Persons Camp Exhibit

Displaced Persons Camp Exhibit

Immigrants waiting at Sofia Square in Kyiv, Ukraine
Displaced Persons Camp in Augsburg, Germany
Displaced Persons Camp
The agreement reached at the Yalta Conference required citizens to be repatriated to their home country. Refugees were to be sent back to the Soviet Union. A large number of DP camp residents resisted this for fear of reprisals. Unfortunately, their fears were realized as upon their return many were executed, sent to labor camps, or resettled in Central Asia
Refugees in Augsburg protesting the decision reached at the Yalta Conference regarding repatriation refused to meet the Soviet Delegation sent to encourage their return to Ukraine.
Mr. and Mrs. Kihiczak on the wagon that brought them from Peremyshl, Ukraine to Augsburg, Germany in 1944. By 1945 thirty-two pairs of horses were owned by refugees and served the needs of the camp. When the Kihiczaks left for America in February 1949 this last pair of horses was sold for $225 American dollars
Children in a camp school
Group photo of the Mittenwald refuge camp on the Karwendel Mountain
The First Holy Communion class at the DP camp in Mittenwald, Germany
The First Holy Communion class at the DP camp in Mittenwald, Germany School photo in Mittenwald, Germany
Elementary school children signing songs and reciting poems to commemorate Taras Shevchenko
Kindergarten class performing songs and poems for Mothers Day in Augsburg, Germany in 1948
Rev. Bohdan Smyk in Mittenwald, Germany
Rev. Smyk, Rev. Tarnavsky, unknown, Rev. Hanoshevsky
Celebrating Epiphany, the commemoration of the Baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River
Services in conjunction with a demonstration against repatriation
Blessing of Easter baskets
Blessing of Easter baskets
Religious services on the square
First Holy Communion in Augsburg, Germany
Yaroslav Stetsko greeting the Bishop in Mittenwald, Germany
The Bandurist Cappella visits Augsburg, Germany in 1947. Front row center are Hryhory Kytasty and Volodymyr Bozhyk
Camp laundry room in Augsburg, Germany in 1947
Leading cows from pasture
Children going to school
Marching
Marching
Smoking kovbasa in Mittenwald, Germany
Plast camp in Mittenwald, Germany
An excursion to the salt mines, 1946
General Mykhailo Omelianovych Pavlenko, supreme commander of the Ukrainian Galician Army 1919-1920 claimed to have owned the best garden in exile
The first boatload of immigrants from DP camps arrived in the United States on October 30, 1948 and the last boatload arrived July 21, 1952

The exhibit commemorates the 60th anniversary of The Displaced Persons Commission Act signed by President Harry S. Truman on June 25, 1948. More than 100,000 Ukrainians benefited from this act of the 80th Congress of the United States when they immigrated to the United States. During four years of its existence, the Commission created by this act was able to process, transport, and provide visas for 370,000 persons, allowing them to enter the United States.

During World War II people arrived in Germany as a result of turmoil, persecution, and political upheaval. Nazi soldiers came to cities and villages and transported people to Germany forcing them into slave labor to replace their depleted workforce, while others were imprisoned in concentration camps. Many people wished to escape the Soviet regime and made their way to Austria and Germany as refugees.

On October 1, 1945 the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) took responsibility for the administration of displaced persons in Europe. In 1947 the International Refugee Organization (IRO) was created to assist in the resettlement of approximately a million and a quarter refugees primarily in Germany, and Austria. The IRO provided food and accommodations, while the refugees worked at the camps to distribute the goods, organize schools, and provide recreational activities.

Виставка присвяченнa 60-ть літтю Displaced Persons Act підписано президентом Harry S. Truman 25-ого червня, 1948р. Білше ніж 100,000 Українці скористали з цієї дії 80-ого Kонґресу С.Ш.А. коли вони іміґрували до Америки. Підчас чотирьох літ свого існування комісія створена цим законом помогла 370,000 людям прибути на терен Обєднаних Штатів Америки.

Підчас Другої світової війни люди опинилися в Нiмеччинi в наслiдок переслiдувань та полiтичного неспокою. Пiд наказом Нациської Німеччини люди були вивезені на примушену роботу до Німеччини або до концентраційних таборів. Безчисленні біженці покидали рідний край перед совєцькою окупацією і опинилися в Австрії або Німеччині.

Першого жовтня 1945 р. У.Н.Р.Р.А. приняла відповідалність за адміністрацію біженців в Европі. В 1947 р. І.Р.О. було створене щоби помогти з переселеням приблизно міліон і чверть біженців поселених побільшості в Німеччені і в Австрії. І.Р.О. відповідало за харчування і перебуття а біженці були відповідальні за роздачу придбаного, навчання в школах, і суспільне життя. Мешканці таборів старалися затримати поможності нормальний спосіб життя. Вони підтримували релегійне життя, видавали ґазети, організували спортові змаги і засновували школи.

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