Displaced Persons

Abstract

France was awash in displaced persons (DPs) from June 1944 until months after the war was over. Repatriating French DPs from Germany turned out to be the easy part; where to put them once they got home was another problem. Caring for and finding homes for all these French and foreign DPs proved challenging for both the French and the Americans, who called on the Red Cross for help. Polish and Russian DPs led to greater headaches for the French than stranded German civilians did. The US Army wanted as little to do with DPs as possible and was anxious for the French to take over this responsibility.