November 1947, A Zionist demonstration being held in a DP camp in Landsberg, Germany

At the end of World War II, thousands of Jews, after experiencing the horrors of the Holocaust, wanted to leave Europe and rebuild their broken lives somewhere else. None of these Jews had anywhere to go. Thus, they congregated in displaced persons’ camps located within the European areas controlled by the Allies. By the end of 1946, there were approximately 250,000 Jewish DPs-185,000 in Germany, 45,000 in Austria, and 20,000 in Italy. The need for DP camps dwindled with the establishment of the State of Israel; about two-thirds of the DPs emigrated to Israel, while the rest moved to the United States. 

Yad Vashem Photo Archives 1486/612