Shabbat Service and Cultural Program

When Americans think of the day that World War II ended in Europe, they picture the sailor kissing a girl in Times Square and everyone celebrating. But in Europe, the end of the war brought chaos and uninterrupted suffering. Over a million people found themselves stranded in Germany after the war was over, with no home to return to. Death camp survivors, forced laborers, and Nazi collaborators all lived for years in Displaced Persons camps. The humanitarian crisis became overwhelmed by foreign policy goals and Cold War calculations.

Historian and biographer David Nasaw has written a new book about how these million individuals came to be in Germany, how they survived in D.P. camps, and how they were finally resettled throughout the world. His book is called The Last Million: Europe’s Displaced Persons from World War to Cold War, published by Penguin Press.

David Nasaw has written award-winning biographies of three prominent American businessmen: William Randolph Hearst, Andrew Carnegie and Joseph Kennedy. He is a past president of the Society of American Historians, and served as the Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. Professor of History at the CUNY Graduate Center.