Mental Health Aspects of Camp Clearance

Abstract

After World War II approximately 8 million former prisoners of war, forced laborers, concentration camp inhabitants, and other displaced persons from the eastern European countries remained in Germany, Austria, Italy and Greece. UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration) repatriated approximately 6½ million of them, IRO (International Refugee Organization) together with other agencies, especially ICEM (International Committee for European Migration), helped with the resettlement of another million. The rest remained under the mandate of the High Commissioner for Refugees of the United Nations, thereafter called UNHCR, in camps and through a slow process different methods, mainly integration into the host countries, were tried. It became a common habit to call the last remnant of displaced persons the “hard core”. The meaning of this deplorable expression was that this remaining group did not want to be repatriated mainly for political reasons, was not eligible² for further emigration for social and health reasons, and had difficulties with integration partly because of resentments on both sides — foreigners as well as local people. There were some signs of resignation on the part of the national and international authorities: the different welfare agencies were of the general opinion that for this residual group no satisfactory solutions could be found. Pessimism and apathy developed, especially within the camps of the refugees themselves.

The author is deeply obliged to Mr. A.R. Lindt, the former United Nations’ High Commissioner for Refugees, and to Mr. W. Pinegar of the High Commissioner’s Office, without whom this project would not have been possible.