Background

Neu Freimann was a displaced persons (DP) camp in the Munich district, located in Schwabing-Freimann, which was part of the American-occupied zone. The camp opened in July 1946, and the residents were housed in confiscated workers' housing with garden plots, which provided 220 units.

Life in the Camp

Dental Technicians at the Neu Freimann DP campNeu Freimann had a Talmud Torah (religious elementary school), a dental treatment facility, and a mixed population of Jewish and non-Jewish Polish DPs. The camp, like others in the American zone, gradually became a predominantly Jewish DP camp.

It was in Munich, the capital of Jewish Germany, that 200 tons of wheat were turned into Matzahs that were distributed to all Bavarian Jewish DPs under the guidance of UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration).

Documenting Neu Freimann  

Jack Sutin, a Holocaust survivor, became a photographer for the camp and donated film footage to the USHMM of himself, his wife Rochelle, their baby daughter, and various other scenes of life in the camp. Saul Sorrin, a Jewish American, was based at the camp and served for a time as director and field supervisor of UNRRA for the American zone in occupied Germany. His photographs are in the USHMM archives.

Closure

The Jewish population in Neu Freimann averaged 2,570 individuals per year. On June 15, 1949, the camp closed.