As Allied troops advanced, German-occupied areas were gradually liberated. The Allies also liberated the Jews who survived in German camps and prisons. Jews living underground or in hiding could finally abandon their assumed identities and their hiding places, where they often had to endure for extended periods of time. However, the survivors then faced new challenges.
On May 8, 1945, Soviet troops liberated Niederschmiedeberg in the Erz Mountains (Saxony). Jurek and Michał Rozenek, Polish Jews, could finally leave their hiding place in the wooden shed behind the Bach family’s house. They were concentration camp prisoners who had fled three weeks earlier en route in a prisoner transport. The brothers had jumped off a freight train and escaped into the forest. Dressed in camp clothing, they were easily recognizable as escaped prisoners. The next day they met a factory worker, Arno Bach, by chance in the forest. He gave the men something to eat and hid them on his property until the area was liberated. Jurek and Michał Rozenek spoke out on behalf of their rescuer to the Soviet authorities. On their suggestion, Arno Bach was appointed mayor.
Sylvia Taboch was liberated in Athens by Greek partisans from ELAS, the Greek People’s Liberation Army, on October 12, 1944. A Jewish girl, she had fled her bombed-out home in Thessaloniki in March 1941 together with her sister Louna, her mother Elvira, and her grandmother. The nuns in the Sisters of St. Joseph convent school took in the girls. Their mother and grandmother found another hiding place. The prioress of the convent, Sister Hélène Capart, used her connections to the Greek police and to relief organizations in order to help the girls and other Jews. Sister Hélène was denounced and spent eight weeks in prison beginning in February 1944. Sylvia Taboch and her mother returned to their hometown of Thessaloniki in December of 1946. Her sister remained in Athens. Her grandmother had fallen ill and died in April 1944.
Jews who fled from Denmark to Sweden were able to return in the summer of 1945. Their mood was marked by gratitude toward Sweden, the country that took them in, and joy over their return. The Danish government provided for the speedy reintegration of the returning Jews. As early as October 1, 1945, the parliament had passed a compensation law that benefited both the deported Jews and those returning from exile. They were initially accommodated in camps; the compensation payments helped them to establish a new livelihood.
