New York, Jewish Holocaust Survivor Names printed in Aufbau Newspaper, 1944-1946

From September 1, 1944 through September 27, 1946, the German-language newspaper Aufbau, published in New York City, printed numerous lists of Jewish Holocaust survivors located in Europe, as well as a few lists of victims.

The lists published in Aufbau were prepared by many different organizations, often by Jewish relief organizations or by officials in displaced persons’ camps. The vast majority of these lists are survivors. The only victims' lists give the names of persons who perished in the Shanghai ghetto.

These lists include over 33,500 names. The survivors originated from all parts of Central and Eastern Europe. At the end of the war most were gathered in displaced persons camps, including camps, such as Bergen Belsen and Dachau, which were once concentration camps. Other survivors returned to the countries from which they originated. A few lucky ones were admitted quickly to England, Sweden, Australia and the United States. Persons are listed in each of these categories.

Information contained in this database from these lists includes:

• ID # (This is solely an internal USHMM finding aid, and does not appear in Aufbau)


• Surname


• Given Name


• Maiden surname


• Pre-war city/country of residence


• Post-war city/country of residence (often a displaced person camp)


• Source (Title of article in Aufbau, and date it appeared, with page number)

The extent of the information available on any individual varies widely, but in most cases only a few of the fields contain information. Additional information such as, local addresses in Europe, or the names and locations of persons outside Europe with whom survivors were seeking to make contact, are listed in the newspaper. This information can easily be located in the original Aufbau material, since the date of publication is always included. Aufbau is still publishing, and its office is located at 2121 Broadway, New York City, NY 10023. Microfilmed copies of Aufbau are also available in many major libraries, and specific locations can be determined by a librarian through the OCLC system.