Aftermath of WW2 in Germany
By: Jenell, Sadhana, Kushal, AND Calen
What kind of things changed after the war?
- Most Jews/displaced people wouldn’t return to their homes because they feared economic and social repercussions, or even annihilation.
- After the war, Jews still weren’t treated fairly, even though they had gone through one of the hardest times anyone would ever have to go through.
- In parts of Poland, there were a number of violent anti-jewish riots.
- Many of the homeless Holocaust survivors traveled westward to other European countries that were liberated by the Allies.
- The country needed money for the resettlement of people affected by the war.
buildings torn down
destruction after war
Kids walking out of the barracks at the end of the war
What help did they have in restoring everything in the nation after the war and the economy collapsing?
- The people were almost abandoned and left to rebuild themselves.
- Small funding came for Germany but Earl G. Harrison wrote: “We appear to be treating the Jews as the Nazis treated them, except we don’t exterminate them.”
- He put it in harsh words, but he puts it correctly. In 1948, the US Congress passed the Displaced Persons Act.
- The act provided approximately 400,000 US immigration visas for displaced people between 1949-1952; approximately 68,000 of them were Jews.
West Germany became an economic miracle in the 1950s and 1960s with the help of Marshall Plan who was an American initiative aid to Western Germany.
The United States gave $12 billion to rebuild Germany after the war.
People abandoned
Injured person getting medical care after receiving money
How was the economy affected by the war?
- The German government enforced a law that Jews were not allowed to sell any goods or services; Jews were completely eliminated from economic life in Germany.
- The war destroyed 20% of all housing in Germany, a large percentage of working-age men died, the rate of food production shrunk by 51%, and unemployment increased.
- By 1948 German people had lived under price controls for 12 years; price controls on food in Germany made the shortages so severe that people started growing their own food.
- Because of the news of despair and bad conditions, people wanted to help, and the improvement of DP camps(Displaced Persons) increased.
Some countries provided education regarding agriculture, financial, legal, and psychological assistance.
Citations
Information:
"Holocaust Timeline: Aftermath." Holocaust Timeline: Aftermath. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
"The Aftermath of the Holocaust." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
"Oral History." Devastation of Nagasaki Industrial Factory District by Second Atomic Bomb Dropped on Japanese on 22 September 1945 | The Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum : Oral Histories. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
"Oral History." General View of Destruction in Hiroshima, Japan in 1945 | The Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum : Oral Histories. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
Pictures:
"The Aftermath of the Holocaust." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n.d. Web
"What Problems Did Survivors Face?" The Holocaust Explained. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
"FOCUS ON: END OF THE WAR:." The National WWII Museum New Orleans. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.