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Organization for Rehabilitation
and Training - ORT
When
the Allied forces liberated the Nazi death camps at the end of World
War II, the survivors walked, or were carried to freedom and safety,
away from the ovens and gas chambers. But myriad problems lay ahead
as they resumed their lives. When they had recovered their health
in the displaced persons camps, many immigrated to the United States.
Most did not speak English, had no skills or professions and were
helpless. Organizations such as ORT (at that time the acronym stood
for: Organization for Rehabilitation and Training) came to the rescue,
training and preparing the refugees to become self-sufficient and
productive citizens of their new country.
For several days in 1949 I photographed the Branson
Ort School in Manhattan. The students bore tattoos on their arms
where the Nazi death troops had eliminated their names and given
them numbers to further depersonalize them before murdering them.
Some of the tattoos, a lifetime reminder of their nightmare, are
visible in the pictures.
At the end of the course, each student received
a certificate of completion and a handshake from the director. Optimistic
and hopeful, they went out into the world once again, to start their
new lives as free people.
Back to photos of ORT.
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