displaced person (DP)

“Displaced person” (abbreviated: "DP") refers to individuals displaced from their home countries. By the end of World War II, an estimated 11 million people had been displaced, including survivors of Nazi genocide, forced laborers, and prisoners of war. Between 1945-1952, c. 1 million people found temporary homes in DP camps organized by Allied forces after liberation in Germany, Austria, and Italy. Approximately 250,000 of them were Jews awaiting emigration to Mandate Palestine or other non-European destinations.

The strict immigration quotas imposed by most countries contributed to a crisis in the postwar years as many DPs, for whom a return to their home countries was not an option, awaited further immigration in camps.