Mental Health and Survivors in Displaced Persons Camps

Speaker: Dr. Daniel Heller

Join us online for a lecture by Dr. Daniel Heller about the struggles of relief workers and survivors in Europe’s Displaced Persons camps. He will explore the methods and resources that were available to address the mental health challenges they faced.

In the wake of the Holocaust, nearly 250 000 Jews found themselves in displaced persons camps, seeking shelter from continued antisemitism, support in finding relatives, and assistance in emigration. It was in these camps that many survivors also sought to begin recovering from their traumatic experiences. Many relief workers in these camps sought to assist them on this journey — even if their visions for the psychological rehabilitation of survivors frequently clashed with those of survivors themselves. 

Dr. Daniel Heller is Kronhill Senior Lecturer in East European Jewish History at the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation (Monash University). An award-winning author and teacher, he is currently leading an interdisciplinary research team investigating resilience and adaptation patterns among Holocaust survivor migrants to Australia.

Image: “Digital Photograph – Displaced Persons Arriving by Truck, Displaced Persons Camp F, Germany, 1946”. Museums Victoria.