"You could recall the atrocities you had endured, but at the same time you were able to start your lives anew, despite the fact that those memories will be an inherent part of you forever. This process of renewal was not conducted in the shadow of that unforgettable evil, but rather with a view to the goodness that you aspired to. One cannot but express wonder in the face of this phenomenon."
Author and journalist Tuvia Carmel wrote these words in March 1962 in the guest book of the She'erit Hapleita (surviving remnant) organization operating in the British zone in Germany (Yad Vashem Document Archive, 66/2.P).
Jews survived the Holocaust in labor, concentration and extermination camps, in hiding and under assumed identities. Some were forced on death marches, in the course of which they walked hundreds of kilometers in the snow, almost died of starvation and witnessed their friends being shot dead. For thousands, liberation came too late. Many were in a state of severe malnourishment; they died in droves and were buried in mass graves. Those who survived liberation and wanted to go home traveled vast distances on foot and by train. When they reached home and witnessed the enormity of the destruction, they waited for long months for family members to appear, in the hope that someone – a parent, sibling, partner, child – had survived. After waiting many months in vain, most came to the devastating realization that they had been left alone in the world. In many cases, locals had taken over their businesses and homes, and appropriated their money and belongings, viewing them with loathing and suspicion.
The Kielce pogrom of 6 July 1946 was the impetus that drove tens of thousands of Jews to the DP camps of Germany, Austria and Italy. Some were fleeing the antisemitism of Eastern Europe; others sought a place to recuperate and to acquire the necessary skills to immigrate to Eretz Israel (Mandatory Palestine).
Despite all the hardships and the feelings of bereavement and loss, Holocaust survivors slowly began the process of recuperation and rehabilitation. They sought new meaning in their lives and attempted to rebuild themselves.
The personal stories, artifacts, artworks and historical documents from Yad Vashem's collections showcased in this exhibition reflect different aspects of liberation: the challenges faced by Holocaust survivors and the attempt to rehabilitate themselves and to build new lives. They testify to the strength of the human spirit, and the survivors' ardent wish to embrace their freedom, both as Jews and as human beings.
