"Welcome to U.S.A.!"

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Atlantic Ocean, July 2, 1949. This is the last newletter the General Howze issued prior to docking in New York City. My friend Kris's Uncle Al did the artwork and hand lettering for the piece.

Thanks to Kris for making this document available to us.

A Different Place

Australia, January 14, 1964. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, saved this photo of a pair of her relatives who settled in Australia. Many Displaced Persons landed there after World War II.

My Parents initially thought they, too, would settle in Australia. My Mom was reluctant to move there because at the time, Australia did not grant licenses to graduates of foreign medical schools. Mom and Dad therefore waited until they could sail to the United States. Once in Brooklyn, Mom had to wait some time before her diploma arrived from Erlangen. She even hired a lawyer to coordinate the transfer of her medical-school documents.

Related by Marriage: Stamp Collection

In the spring and summer of 1949, Lithuanian Displaced Persons began arriving in Chicago. The Displaced Persons Act of 1948 had temporarily opened the U.S. to the refugees from the Baltic states and other countries fleeing Soviet occupation of their countries. Between 1949 and 1951, only Polish immigrants outnumbers the Lithuanian DPs arriving in Chicago.

Both family members and charitable organizations hosted the new arrivals. Immigrants frequently relied on local, Lithuanian parishes to provide a social structure. Among the new arrivals were many young, unmarried adults. Organizations like the Catholic Knights of Lithuania provided a year-round calendar of events that introduced first generation Lithuanian-Americans to the DPs in their age groups. (Mr. Irene’s parents celebrated their wedding at the Knights of Lithuania Hall on 47th Street in Brighton Park.) 

 

Mr. Irene’s Mom took part in the Knights' social culture. She recalls that the young bachelors "from the old country" were more charming and interesting than her Chicago-born friends. 

 

Agnes, an aunt of Mr. Irene’s Mom, and her husband sponsored two young bachelors and one family. Mr. Irene’s Mom briefly dated one of the DP bachelors.  She had recently moved with her family from Bridgeport to Marquette Park. The bachelor gave Mr. Irene's Mom a memento from his time in the Würzburg DP camp. It was  a display book that held stamps issued in late 1930s Lithuania, wartime Germany, and the immediate postwar period in the DP camps.

 

 

Würzburg Displaced Persons Camp, Germany, November, 1947. This page shows a variety of German postage stamps issued in 1944.  One series illustrated local festivals, such as a shooting competition in Innsbruck in July, 1944.  Others pictured "Heroes," ranging from stylized military scenes to idyllic images of youth and family.

 

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Würzburg, Displaced Persons Camp, Germany, November, 1947. These stamps feature anniversary illustrations of the Lithuania's 1918 independence and commemoration of the trans-Atlantic flight of pilots Darius and Girenas that opened Lithuania’s international air mail service. The Lithuanian Red Cross issued the Camp Meerbeck stamps in the British Zone of postwar Germany in 1947, observing the 400th anniversary of Lithuanian book printing. Note the British stamps highlighting the 1948 Olympics and 25th anniversary of the King’s reign.

"We're on the swaying boat."

That's what a friend of my maternal Grandfather, Jake, wrote on the back of this photo:

Atlantic Ocean, May 9, 1949. This is the woman whose family settled on a farm in Howard Lake.

Where to settle.

Many Displaced Persons seeking to relocate to the United States did not have family who could sponsor their immigration. Those refugees instead relied on churches or other, unrelated, sponsors. Unrelated sponsors often contracted to support an immigrant on condition that the new arrival work for them for a period of time. This system—though not a government program—was similar to the relocation structure that operated in in Canada. My paternal Grandmother Tatjana, for example, worked as a cook in the home of a Russian family. Other Displaced Persons lived and worked on farms after their arrival.

Howard Lake, Minnesota, May 21, 1950. A friend of my maternal Grandfather, Jake, wrote, "Here you can see our boss's farm."

"Crossing the Ocean"

The Baltic DP project has made available an account written by a young, Lithuanian DP.

For more photos of and recollections about the crossing, click on the "Atlantic Ocean" label below.

Sailing to America

Probably Bremerhaven, Germany, June 1949. The General Howze leaves the port. My friend Kris's Grandfather wrote, "Our ship, on which we sailed to America."

Thanks to my friend Kris for making this photo available to us.

We travel with family.

Atlantic Ocean, June 1949. My Mom's best friend, Donna, travels with her mother to America aboard the "General Howze."

Thanks to my friend Kris for making this photo available to us.

Another Departure

My Mom's best friend, Donna, spent the post-war years at a Displaced Persons camp in Würzburg. After Congress passed the Displaced Persons Act of 1948, Donna sailed to the United States with her brother, Uncle Al, and her Parents.

The ship "General Howze" transported Donna to America. When the ship left the German port, an American soldier named Jerry took photographs of Donna and her family. Jerry later sent the developed prints to Donna.

The General Howze arrived in New York on July 3, 1949. Donna and her family took a Chicago-bound train that same day, and the train reached Chicago on July Fourth. Donna remembers drinking a great deal of cold lemonade that day. She developed a stomach ache because she was unaccustomed to iced beverages.

I don’t know whether this was the same sailing of the General Howze as the one that brought Jonas Mekas to the United States.

Probably Bremerhaven, Germany, June 1949. The "General Howze" sets sail for America.

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Probably Bremerhaven, Germany, June 1949. Donna and her brother, Uncle Al, are ready to emigrate to the United States. I love that Donna is wearing trousers, and I covet Uncle Al's sweater.

Donna left Germany not long after my Parents sailed to the United States.

Thanks to my friend Kris for making these photos available to us.

Memorable Meeting

Schweinfurt, Germany, January 18, 1948. Two leaders among the Displaced-Persons scouts conduct a meeting. My Dad has several photographs from this day, including another snapshot of the mentor pictured here.

Was this a significant gathering, perhaps designed to plan for the Scouting Jamboree that took place later that year in Isarhorn? Or was it a meeting to discuss how to preserve the scouting traditions because so many of the DPs secured permission to leave Germany in 1948?

Related by Marriage: Two Who Mattered

These two men were "first wavers" who emigrated to Chicago from Lithuania before the fall of Tsarist Russia. After World War II, first wavers often were the ones who made it possible for Displaced Persons to relocate to the United States. Under the Displaced Persons Act of 1948, a World War II refugee could not settle in the U.S. unless someone "sponsored" him.

"First wavers" often stepped up to serve as sponsors.

South Side Chicago, about 1955. The man on the left is an uncle who served as the sponsor for the immigration of Mr. Irene's Dad. On the right stands the brother of Mr. Irene's Great-Grandfather.

Normal Activities Under Abnormal Circumstances

It's easy to forget that most World War II refugees lived in the Displaced Persons camps for four or five years. For those seeking permission to emigrate to the United States, it took an Act of Congress—the Displaced Persons Act of 1948—to authorize their arrival.

Many Displaced Persons, like my Parents, filled their time in the American-occupied zone of Germany by going to school or working (or both). People fell in love, had children, engaged in hobbies, relaxed in parks, and played sports.

They loved their sports:

Schweinfurt, Germany, 1948. A group of DPs gets ready to play a game of volleyball.

 

 

Schweinfurt, Germany, 1948. The game begins.

Related by Marriage: You're in the Army!

Mr. Irene's Dad—"Father-in-Law"—was younger than my Parents. When he sailed to the United States in June, 1949, he still was an unmarried man. Father-in-Law, like all Displaced Persons who arrived in America, had the "sponsorship" of a U.S. citizen. A sponsor ensured that the new arrival would have housing, would not displace any American workers, and generally would stay out of trouble. Father-in-Law's sponsor was a distant relative whose family had settled in Chicago as part of the first wave of Lithuanian immigrants.

Father-in-Law initially settled in Brighton Park, a south-side, Lithuanian enclave similar to Marquette Park. Because he lived in Brighton Park, Father-in-Law had few opportunities to speak English. He carried out his work life and his social life in the Lithuanian language.

Father-in-Law got an unexpected notice about twenty months after he emigrated to the States. The U.S. Army had drafted him. The Korean War was under way, and the U.S. Army stationed Father-in-Law at the base in Barstow, California as … a tank instructor. This life change meant that Father-in-Law learned English rather quickly. He hung around with a bunch of privates, and his closest buddy was a cook in the mess hall. Father-in-Law learned Army-base English.

Father-in-law was eager to show his sponsor's family how proficiently he had absorbed the nuances of the English language. On leave for Thanksgiving, he headed home to Brighton Park. Sitting at the holiday table, and midway through the meal, Father-in-Law asked, "Would someone please pass the fucking potatoes?"

The stint in the U.S. Army had additional benefits. First, the timeline for Father-in-Law's naturalization process sped up because of his service in the military. Second, as a Korean War vet, Father-in-Law qualified to join the V.F.W. It was at a V.F.W.-sponsored event that Father-in-Law first met Mr. Irene's Mom.

Camp Irwin, Barstow, California, February 16, 1951. Father-in-Law looks happy.