Nurses from Here – Epidemics from There. The Encounter between Nurses from Eretz Israel and Holocaust Survivors Abroad, in an Effort to Eradicate Epidemics and Morbidity 1945–1948

Abstract

Throughout history, wars and epidemics have been interrelated, as are immigration and health problems. At the end of the Second World War (WWII), Jewish survivors of the Holocaust wandered across European countries hoping to find living relatives. Many of them were gathered in temporary displaced persons camps operated by the Allied forces and humanitarian organizations. The survivors were in poor health, exhausted physically, emotionally, and morally, and suffered from a variety of contagious diseases. The purpose of this article is to shed light on the roles, experiences, and contributions of the nurses “from here” – Eretz Israel – who volunteered as emissaries to care for their Jewish brothers and sisters wherever needed. Our study followed the nurses through three different immigration camps between 1945 and 1948. First, in the displaced persons camps (DP camps) for Holocaust survivors in Germany (“over there”). Next, in the detention camps in Cyprus, where the British held refugees caught trying to enter Eretz Israel without the correct immigration papers (“over there”). Lastly, a short glimpse into the complex reality the nurses faced within the absorption camps for new immigrants in Israel (“back here”). The nurses’ ingenuity and resourcefulness made up for the lack of means and infrastructure in eradicating epidemics and caring for the immigrants. In the light of the current trends of mass immigration and global pandemics, the discussion focuses on potential lessons that can be learned from the unique Israeli experience of integrating immigrants and overcoming epidemics.