On 28 April 1946, violent riots erupt around the Landsberg Displaced Persons camp after a rumour spreads that two Jewish guards have been killed.
The day already carries symbolic weight. In the town of Landsberg am Lech, local Germans are participating in the first democratic municipal elections since Hitler’s rise to power. For Jewish residents in the nearby Landsberg DP camp, it marks the one-year anniversary of the liberation of several Kaufering subcamps of Dachau, where many of them had been imprisoned.
This morning, a rumour spreads through the camp: two young Jewish men, assigned as guards to a villa in the nearby town of Dießen, have gone missing. As the story circulates, details grow more ominous—by afternoon, many camp residents believe the two men have been killed. Fueled by grief, fear, and anger, and absent any confirmation from authorities, groups of Jewish DPs begin forming vigilante bands, determined to exact revenge.
By evening, hundreds of male and female camp residents pour into the surrounding streets. German civilians are stopped and interrogated. Some are beaten, robbed, and, according to multiple testimonies, photographed while bloodied and humiliated. One woman recalls that when her husband pleaded for mercy, the assailants claimed, “Six Jews were killed last night, and revenge must be taken.” Vehicles passing near the camp are halted and damaged; drivers are pulled from their cars and assaulted. Witnesses describe the attackers as wielding clubs, iron hooks, and, in some cases, knives. At least twenty Germans are hospitalised, seven seriously wounded, and one left in critical condition.
The attackers include members of the camp police—identified by their capes and Star of David insignia—raising alarm over the role of self-defence forces within the DP system.
The violence subsides by nightfall, but the fallout will continue for months. Only later will it emerge that the two missing Jewish guards had simply abandoned their post early that morning and taken a train to Munich without authorisation. No attack had occurred.
Picture: Zionist demonstration in the DP camp in Landsberg, Nov 1947 Source: Yad Vashem Photo Archives 1486/612
World War Two
On 28 April 1946, violent riots erupt around the Landsberg Displaced Persons camp after a rumour spreads that two Jewish guards have been killed.
The day already carries symbolic weight. In the town of Landsberg am Lech, local Germans are participating in the first democratic municipal elections since Hitler’s rise to power. For Jewish residents in the nearby Landsberg DP camp, it marks the one-year anniversary of the liberation of several Kaufering subcamps of Dachau, where many of them had been imprisoned.
This morning, a rumour spreads through the camp: two young Jewish men, assigned as guards to a villa in the nearby town of Dießen, have gone missing. As the story circulates, details grow more ominous—by afternoon, many camp residents believe the two men have been killed. Fueled by grief, fear, and anger, and absent any confirmation from authorities, groups of Jewish DPs begin forming vigilante bands, determined to exact revenge.
By evening, hundreds of male and female camp residents pour into the surrounding streets. German civilians are stopped and interrogated. Some are beaten, robbed, and, according to multiple testimonies, photographed while bloodied and humiliated. One woman recalls that when her husband pleaded for mercy, the assailants claimed, “Six Jews were killed last night, and revenge must be taken.” Vehicles passing near the camp are halted and damaged; drivers are pulled from their cars and assaulted. Witnesses describe the attackers as wielding clubs, iron hooks, and, in some cases, knives. At least twenty Germans are hospitalised, seven seriously wounded, and one left in critical condition.
The attackers include members of the camp police—identified by their capes and Star of David insignia—raising alarm over the role of self-defence forces within the DP system.
The violence subsides by nightfall, but the fallout will continue for months. Only later will it emerge that the two missing Jewish guards had simply abandoned their post early that morning and taken a train to Munich without authorisation. No attack had occurred.
Picture: Zionist demonstration in the DP camp in Landsberg, Nov 1947
Source: Yad Vashem Photo Archives 1486/612
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