Many
survivors arrived in the DP camps still not knowing
the fates of family members from whom they had been
separated during the war. Through tracing services
set up by the United Nations, the Red Cross, and Jewish
organizations, they began to piece together what had
happened to their parents, spouses, and children.
Some were devastated by the news that they were the
only survivors of their entire families. Others were
reunited with loved ones they thought they would never
see again. Some survivors responded to loss by immediately
starting new families. Despite the makeshift nature
of life in temporary quarters, there were many marriages.
Often, couples had children right away. Soon, the
camps witnessed something of a population explosion.
One camp, Bad Reichenhall, a camp with a population
of only a few thousand, recorded 35 births in October,
1946.
