UN General Assembly recognizes genocide as an international crime

Germany’s unconditional surrender took effect in Europe, ending the war there. About six million Jews had been murdered by Nazi Germany and its allies and collaborators; survivors faced family loss,...

The White House released Earl Harrison’s report on Jewish displaced persons. Based on his August visit, it criticized Allied treatment, urged improved conditions and distinct recognition of Jewish...

The International Military Tribunal began trials of leading Nazi officials on charges including crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The proceedings established a postwar...

The small Jewish displaced-persons camp opened to provide additional space for refugees from the overcrowded Zeilsheim camp. Survivors rebuilt communal life through schools, religious and cultural...

Local residents and members of Polish security forces attacked surviving and returning Jews in Kielce; 42 Jews were killed. The pogrom drew on entrenched antisemitism and blood-libel allegations and...

More than 4,500 Jewish displaced persons and Holocaust survivors sailed from France toward British-mandate Palestine aboard the Exodus 1947. British naval forces intercepted the ship on July 18 and...

The State of Israel declared independence as the British Mandate ended. Holocaust survivors were among those who sought refuge and rebuilt lives there, after years of blocked routes and...

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin had campaigned to name and prohibit...

West Germany, Israel, and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany concluded agreements on compensation for survivors of Nazi persecution and support for Israel’s integration of...

The Knesset passed the Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Law, establishing Yad Vashem as Israel’s Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Authority. The law directed the institution to commemorate Jewish...