Second World Displaced Persons (1 results)

Sixty-six gelatin silver print photographs relating to refugees residing in Lübeck in 1946, following the Second World War. The largest measuring 17 x 13cm, with some smaller. All uncaptioned but with a contemporary envelope bearing a British military government stamp dated 18th July 1946 and reference "512 P DET" and additional manuscript tag "508 DET LÜBECK". Condition is very good indeed. An unusual group of photographs, apparently originating from the British administration in Germany during the immediate post-war period, depicting the experiences of refugees from the former eastern territories of Germany, annexed by Poland and the Soviet Union following the end of the war, displaced and now residing in Lübeck. The result of Germany's eastern border being redrawn was a mass influx of displaced persons, predominantly into Schleswig-Holstein, causing an economic and humanitarian crisis which formed one of the biggest difficulties faced by Germany during the early post-war period, and which was brought to an end only by the Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle) of the 1950s. The present photographs form an important insight into the plight of those displaced, predominantly depicting poignant moments of arrival and departure.