There were several cases for many survivors since those that did survive, had such varying situations based on how they survived and where they were upon their liberation. If someone survived by going into hiding, they may have been near their homes or with their family to begin with. If someone was hiding alone, there was a good chance that they knew of someone or somewhere to go after the war to reunite. There were people who survived by escaping the country they were in. For example, Denmark got nearly all of its 6,000 Jews across the sea to Sweden which was neutral. The same occured with Switzerland with hundreds of Jews making the dangerous trek to Switzerland from Germany, Italy, and France. Then there were survivors of the concentration camps who situation varied on who liberated them and where they were liberated. Those whose entire families were sent to concentration camps had a much lower chance of being reunited with family if they were separated. The concentration camps were brutal, horrible places with inhumane conditions. Most of the survivors ranged from being sixteen to fourty. Those within that age range were deemed fit for work. Young children and those over fourty were not so their chances of survival were less because in nearly all concentration camps, inability to work meant certain death.

Holocaust survivor Livia Bitton-Jackson survived both Auschwitz and Dachau. She was sent to Auschwitz from a ghetto in Hungary with her mother, brother, and aunt. Her father was sent to a labor camp before the rest of them were deported. At Auschwitz, her aunt was sent to the gas chamber, and she was separated from her brother. She remained with her mother throughout the war, and while in Auschwitz was reunited with an aunt and cousins. The aunt and cousins did not survive. Near the end of the war, she and her mother were reunited with her brother in Dachau. After liberation, they spent about a month where the Americans set up a recovery camp before they were "repatriated" back to Czechoslovakia. They went by train and later a ride by a farmer. They were able to get their home back. She found out the fate of her father by former neighbors who were with her father when they were in concentration camps. A short time after their arrival home, Livia's Uncle (father's brother) who was in America, saw her father's name on a list of survivors (it was in error). That Uncle offered to bring Livia and her remaining family to America.

For survivors, there were relief organizations like the Red Cross that worked by gathering the names of survivors and those that they were missing. The Red Cross would gather as much information it could from survivors and the names were posted on boards. Survivors and those looking for information, or those with information would look at the boards. Survivors were desperate to find information on family and friends, especially if they were separated.

Gloria Hollander Lyon survived but she was separated from her family. She was liberated from Ravensbrück and was a part of a group of those released by negotiation between Swedish Stateman Count Folke Bernadotte and Heinreich Himmler. She ended up in Denmark by train and later Sweden to recover. The Red Cross there took her name and nursed her and many other survivors back to health. Her name was heard over the radio by her family back at their home in Czechoslovakia. She sent letters home and her family wrote her back. They were residing with a neighbor since they were not allowed back in their old home. She only lost one brother in her immeadiate family. Gloria later moved to America when she recovered.

But not all survivors were in the same situation as Livia or Gloria. Other survivors spent months, even years in displaced persons camps. Approx. 11 million people were displaced after WWII. This number includes Holocaust Survivors, Prisoners-of-war, people who survived in hiding, mostly anyone who was taken from their home and ended up elsewhere during the war. The allies that liberated the concentration camps quickly worked to help the survivors by providing them shelter, food, medical care, and clothing.

The UNRRA, or the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, took over the displaced persons camps and provided for the survivors. The International Red Cross also was involved. Displaced persons camps were located in a variety of spots. Some were in towns, others near the liberated concentration camps. They were located all over Europe, but the majority were in Germany. The UNRRA set up a network so families could be reunited, so people could find out the fate of those they cared for. This is where the names of survivors ended up, as well as the names of people who had family looking for them. Those that were able to go home or had a home to go to had their ride organized by the allies and the UNRRA. Many went home by train.

As time went on, displaced persons camps provided more than basic needs. Schools were set up and there was a cultural life was started to form. There were classes, religious ceremonies, weddings, sporting events, and newspapers. Most of the DP camps were closed by 1952, but the last one closed in 1959. Those that wanted to, and could go home did. Those from countries in Western Europe went home more than those from Eastern Europe, whose homes were then ruled by the Soviet Union. Many did not want to go back because they feared facing homelessness, persecution, and possible arrest. Some survivors that returned to a home in the Soviet Union were sent to Gulags.

It is also true that some survivors never found out what happened to their families. Even to this day, there are survivors who never found the fate of their family or friends or neighbors. Some were lucky and knew within a year. Others had to wait longer, and others never found out. There are still survivors being reunited to this day. A simple online search of "Holocaust Survivors Reunited" brings up dozens of stories of survivors reuniting with lost family, friends, and lovers, over seventy years later.

Sources: Berger, Joseph A. Displaced Persons: A Human Tragedy of World War II, 1947.

Bitton-Jackson, Livia. I Have Lived a Thousand Years. Simon Pulse, 1999.

Lyon, Gloria Hollander. Mommy, What's That Number on Your Arm?: A-6374 My Holocaust Memoir. 2016.

Zahra, T. (2010). “Prisoners of the Postwar”: Expellees, Displaced Persons, and Jews in Austria after World War II.