Magdalena Waligórska, Ina Sorkina, Yechiel Weizman, Marta Duch-Dyngosz. To Leave, or to Remain? Migration Decisions of Holocaust Survivors in Postwar Poland, Belarus and Ukraine in a Comparative Perspective

This article focuses on the central question that Holocaust survivors were asking themselves in the aftermath of World War Two: whether to remain in their towns (and countries) of origin or to leave? The first postwar years witnessed the largest mass-migration wave in the history of Europe. Part of these movements were returns home. By May 1945, over 40 million people had suffered war related displacement. Shifts on the political map of Europe led to more forced migration. The present article looks at how these major migration trends affected the life-changing decisions of Holocaust survivors in the microscale of former shtetls in Poland, Belarus and Ukraine. Considering the questions of personal safety, the opportunities for upward social mobility, and other push and pull factors, this paper concentrates on migration decisions of both those Jews who left their shtetls, and those who, at least, temporarily, opted for staying. Visualizations of migration routes provide additional insight into the collective nature of migration decisions and the role of group pressure.