What do we do when it comes to finding displaced World War II refugees?
The answer is simple: we do our very best to find them.
Are WW2 Refugees Still Around?
Yes, they are. Although the number of post-WW2 refugees is dwindling, many of those who experienced the war were very young in 1945, some as young as five years old. Many of them are still with us today, though their numbers are decreasing.
Click these links for more information:
1. National Archives relates to separated Jewish Children
2. United Nations Archives
Post-WW2 Carnage after 1945 Central Europe.
The Ongoing Search: We Can’t Do It Alone
We are not able to find these people without any outside help. Thus, we are delighted to announce an excitingly new but challenging service project relating to these lost people.
The Refugee and displaced People Post WWII tracing service was created in conjunction with our International people Tracing and Detective Agency section which has many central European connections. Prague is one in particular.
It’s quite astonishing to take in that many of these sad and lost people were quite devastatingly never reunited with their families or relatives after WWII ended. Particularly individuals who in 1945 found themselves stateless, homeless, and with no particular place to go.
The Red Cross offer appears a fantastic service, here. Providing support to families and refugees of WW2. It seems, though, that it ended in 2008. You can follow this link to read more.
While we cannot match the Red Cross’ resources and abilities, we can fill in some cracks we have found. Those often overlooked were, in fact, German citizens. Children who lost both parents and who were forced to vanish during the war. The East-West split separated many in the aftermath.
Yes, German children were in the same predicament as other nationals at the war’s end. However, they were not prioritised, given the understandable hostility towards Germany. So, we are here for them today!
The Challenges We Face
The reason is that there are many highly challenging obstacles to circumvent here. Besides old age getting in the way, many of their relatives perished in concentration camps unbeknown to the survivors.
Many were tortured to death and others, for various reasons just vanished. The backgrounds of these people today are very patchy, and in others, there is no info. Country boundaries and borders have changed; for example, parts of Poland merged into Germany and Russia, creating chaos. Add to this that by 1948, large chunks of Europe were absorbed into the Soviet Bloc.
If you lived in the Soviet-controlled part, your past was often eradicated, and your files were destroyed. Many people were sent to forced labour camps, never to be seen again. Nobody was around to challenge or dispute what was going on. Most were labelled undesirable, so there was then and still is, no recourse for them. People had to carry on with forced labour until they dropped dead. No records of their existence or their death were ever kept.
Covering The Entire Spectrum In Private Investigations
We have decided to pursue these cases, despite knowing these complex trace assignments often involve “out of the box” thinking.
Whether it be finding post-WW2 refugees or their descendants, it is very challenging indeed. We have discovered several unsolved cases of surviving older people who, in 1945, were classed as displaced persons.
Where do our international people tracer services cover?
Our search for WW2 refugees extends across Germany, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Israel, Hungary, the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia), Slovakia, and Ukraine. Additionally, Friends Reunited traces people in the USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
We understand that the demand for this service may not be high, but if we can reunite just one family, it will be more than worthwhile.
It would be more than worthwhile if we could reunite with just one family.
How much will this cost?
The cost of our services could eventually range into the thousands. But for now, it’s a flat £1000.00 There was currently funding from the German Government, but it unfortunately expired in 2023. We are redoubling our efforts, and our services.
If you or someone you know is searching for a person lost or missing from this era, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Useful Links for Further Support
1. International Tracing Service’s “Request for persons persecuted by National Socialism, their families and representatives” in Bad Arolsen, Germany
2. The Red Cross tracing service, via your local Red Cross chapter
3. Yad Vashem’s Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names in Jerusalem, Israel
4. The Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute at the Center for Jewish History in New York City, USA
5. The US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Holocaust Survivors and Victims Resource Center in Washington, DC, USA
6. International Refugee Organization Archives at Archives Nationals in Paris, France
7. The Routes to Roots Foundation, an online database for Jewish and civil records in Eastern Europe
