Holocaust survivors reached Israel after years in displaced persons camps, but their absorption took place within a much larger immigration wave. The new state had to provide housing, work, education, and services as hundreds of thousands of immigrants arrived. The ma'abarot, or transition camps, were established beginning in 1950 for immigrants generally; they were not specifically survivor camps.
Leaving Europe’s temporary camps
After the war, Allied authorities housed Jewish displaced persons in camps and urban centers in Germany, Austria, and Italy. More than 250,000 Jewish DPs lived in these settings between 1945 and 1952, according to the Holocaust Encyclopedia. Israel’s establishment in May 1948 opened a new destination, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum estimates that about 140,000 Holocaust survivors entered Israel in the next few years. Many other immigrants came from Jewish communities across the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe.
The arrival rate challenged housing capacity. In 1949, Israel received close to 240,000 immigrants, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics historical account. Temporary tent camps and transit centers housed newcomers while permanent solutions were planned. Some survivors arrived directly from Europe; others had already spent time in Cyprus or other transit settings.
What the ma'abarot provided
Independent ma'abarot began appearing in 1950. The Central Bureau of Statistics’ contemporary yearbook discusses immigrant transition camps and social welfare provision in this period. They housed immigrants in temporary structures while government agencies and local authorities arranged services and longer-term housing. A 1951 social welfare account describes state departments as responsible for welfare work across all ma'abarot and immigrant communities, including winter shelter for children.
Conditions were difficult, with shortages of housing and basic infrastructure. The camps reflected the pressure of rapid immigration on a young state, not a single survivor-specific policy. Residents differed in country of origin, language, family circumstances, and experience of the war. The process of absorption continued through employment, schooling, local services, and the gradual transition from temporary housing.
Different routes into a new home
Survivors’ experiences should be traced individually where possible. The same period brought Holocaust survivors from Europe, Jews expelled or fleeing from Arab countries, and immigrants from other regions. A shared housing system did not mean a shared migration history.
For the earlier journey, read Berihah, Aliyah Bet, and Cyprus. For survivor-founded communities and permanent homes, see the kibbutz histories.