
The Last Million
Europe's Displaced Persons from World War to Cold War
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Narrated by:
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Malcolm Hillgartner
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By:
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David Nasaw
From best-selling author David Nasaw, a sweeping new history of the one million refugees left behind in Germany after WWII.
In May of 1945, German forces surrendered to the Allied powers, effectively putting an end to World War II in Europe. But the aftershocks of global military conflict did not cease with the German capitulation. Millions of lost and homeless concentration camp survivors, POWs, slave laborers, political prisoners, and Nazi collaborators in flight from the Red Army overwhelmed Germany, a nation in ruins. British and American soldiers gathered the malnourished and desperate refugees and attempted to repatriate them. But after exhaustive efforts, there remained more than a million displaced persons left behind in Germany: Jews, Poles, Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, and other Eastern Europeans who refused to go home or had no homes to which to return. The Last Million would spend the next three to five years in displaced persons camps, temporary homelands in exile divided by nationality, with their own police forces, churches and synagogues, schools, newspapers, theaters, and infirmaries. The international community could not agree on the fate of the Last Million, and after a year of debate and inaction, the International Refugee Organization was created to resettle them in lands suffering from postwar labor shortages. But no nations were willing to accept the 200,000 to 250,000 Jewish men, women, and children who remained trapped in Germany.
In 1948, the United States, among the last countries to accept refugees for resettlement, finally passed a displaced-persons bill. With Cold War fears supplanting memories of World War II atrocities, the bill granted the vast majority of visas to those who were reliably anti-Communist, including thousands of former Nazi collaborators and war criminals, while severely limiting the entry of Jews, who were suspected of being Communist sympathizers or agents because they had been recent residents of Soviet-dominated Poland. Only after the controversial partition of Palestine and Israel's declaration of independence were the remaining Jewish survivors able to leave their displaced-persons camps in Germany.
A masterwork from acclaimed historian David Nasaw, The Last Million tells the gripping yet until now largely hidden story of postwar displacement and statelessness. By 1952, the Last Million were scattered around the world. As they crossed from their broken past into an unknowable future, they carried with them their wounds, their fears, their hope, and their secrets. Here for the first time, Nasaw illuminates their incredible history and, with profound contemporary resonance, shows us that it is our history as well.
©2020 David Nasaw (P)2020 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
“Nasaw does a masterful job of bringing to light the lasting individual and global consequences of policies and attitudes surrounding the last million... A thought-provoking, highly recommended perspective on a complex and largely overlooked people and period of modern history.” (Library Journal, starred review)
“A richly detailed account of what happened to the one million Holocaust survivors, former slave laborers, and POWs who found themselves in Germany at the end of WWII ... Nasaw skillfully and movingly relates a multilayered story with implications for contemporary refugee crises. This meticulously researched history is a must-read.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)
"[M]asterful...A searching, vigorously written history of an unsettled time too little known to American readers." (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)
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The book is long, but it is full of primary sources, quotes and detailed research of records and political action as well as comments from those leaders who were positioned in power around the world.
An Important History that Resonates Today
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Well worth read to those interested in history.
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Detailed But Riveting
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Incredible perspective on the postwar era
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The Truth Never Dies
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While I am not an academic, making it challenging to process all the detailed information, the book's consistent theme was clear: the distinction between who was wanted and who was not. This was a significant aspect of the displaced persons' struggle to find new homes. Nasaw's detailed account highlights the political, social, and humanitarian complexities involved in resettling these millions of individuals.
Additionally, the book draws a parallel to modern-day immigration issues, showing that the dilemmas and debates surrounding displaced persons and refugees remain relevant today. "The Last Million" not only enriched my understanding of post-World War II history but also offered insights into the ongoing global challenges of displacement and resettlement.
Reflections on 'The Last Million': A Unique Perspective on Post-WWII Displacement
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Must read for those who study the WW's in Europe
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Somber Aftermath
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