Colorized Photos of WWII Refugees Offer New Perspective on the Migrant Crisis
Colorized Photos of WWII Refugees Offer New Perspective on the Migrant Crisis
1 minute read
Refugees stand in a group on a street in La Gleize, Belgium on Jan. 2, 1945. They are waiting to be transported from the war-torn town after its recapture by American forces during the German thrust into the Belgium-Luxembourg salient.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: AP
As Europe struggles with the historic influx of migrants and refugees in recent years, comparisons have been made with World War II when more than 60 million Europeans were forced to leave their homes as they fled persecution.
The images we have seen of Syrian, Iraqi and Afghan refugees, among many others nationalities, walking from Greece to Serbia, Croatia, Hungary and Germany are reminiscent of the searing photographs of refugees made during and after World War II.
TIME commissioned freelance photo editor Sanna Dullaway to colorize some of these iconic images.
Sanna Dullaway is a photo editor based in Sweden and the host of a monthly column on TIME LightBox on colorized photography. See more of her work here.
Displaced persons cross a bridge on the River Elbe at Tangermunde, which was blown up by the Germans, to escape the chaos behind German lines caused by the approach of the advancing Russians on May 1, 1945.Fred Ramage—Keystone/Getty ImagesDisplaced persons cross a bridge on the River Elbe at Tangermunde, which was blown up by the Germans, to escape the chaos behind German lines caused by the approach of the advancing Russians on May 1, 1945.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Getty ImagesGermans who were uprooted during the war are pictured at the Lehrter Strasse Transient Refugee Camp in Berlin on Sept. 26, 1945. Henry Burroughs—APGermans who were uprooted during the war are pictured at the Lehrter Strasse Transient Refugee Camp in Berlin on Sept. 26, 1945. Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: APA displaced persons camp in Germany, March, 1945.Fred Ramage—Keystone/Getty ImagesA displaced persons camp in Germany, March, 1945.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Getty ImagesThe only survivors of 150 Polish people who walked from Lodz, Poland to Berlin Huddle in blankets, on December 14, 1945. They are waiting by a railway track hoping to be picked up by a British army train and given help.Fred Ramage—Keystone/Getty ImagesThe only survivors of 150 Polish people who walked from Lodz, Poland to Berlin Huddle in blankets, on December 14, 1945. They are waiting by a railway track hoping to be picked up by a British army train and given help.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Getty ImagesA homeless refugee German woman sits with all of her possessions on the side of a muddy street in Cologne amid ruins caused by massive Allied air raids, March 1945.John Florea, Courtesy of Steven Kasher GalleryA homeless refugee German woman sits with all of her possessions on the side of a muddy street in Cologne amid ruins caused by massive Allied air raids, March 1945.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: John Florea, Courtesy of Steven Kasher GalleryRefugees stand in a group on a street in La Gleize, Belgium on Jan. 2, 1945. They are waiting to be transported from the war-torn town after its recapture by American forces during the German thrust into the Belgium-Luxembourg salient.Peter J. Carroll—APRefugees stand in a group on a street in La Gleize, Belgium on Jan. 2, 1945. They are waiting to be transported from the war-torn town after its recapture by American forces during the German thrust into the Belgium-Luxembourg salient.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: APFrench refugees, returning to their homes in St. Pois, France after the Germans were driven out by the American forces, stop to rest at the side of the road on August 10, 1944. APFrench refugees, returning to their homes in St. Pois, France after the Germans were driven out by the American forces, stop to rest at the side of the road on August 10, 1944. Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: APA large group of refugees fleeing Paris in anticipation of the German invasion, 1940.FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesA large group of refugees fleeing Paris in anticipation of the German invasion, 1940.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Getty ImagesA woman reads a magazine in an emergency accommodation for refugees, around 1945.Fritz Eschen—ullstein bild/Getty ImagesA woman reads a magazine in an emergency accommodation for refugees, around 1945.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: ullstein bild/Getty ImagesRefugees from the East of the German Reich (German Empire) around 1944-1945. Place and date unknown.Berliner Verlag—Archiv/picture-alliance/dpa/APRefugees from the East of the German Reich (German Empire) around 1944-1945. Place and date unknown.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: APBelgian refugees carry their belongings with them as they flee from the advancing German army in January 1945.Allan Jackson—Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesBelgian refugees carry their belongings with them as they flee from the advancing German army in January 1945.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Getty ImagesA family of Belgian refugees hold and support each other as they pass a military vehicle while walking the road to France, circa 1940. Behind them are other groups of refugees fleeing occupied Belgium. Three Lions—Getty ImagesA family of Belgian refugees hold and support each other as they pass a military vehicle while walking the road to France, circa 1940. Behind them are other groups of refugees fleeing occupied Belgium. Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Getty ImagesA crowd of refugees stood behind barbed wire on May 18, 1945, while waiting to cross the border into the neutral state of Lichstenstein. A thorough check by the customs office had to be performed for each of these displaced persons. Getty ImagesA crowd of refugees stood behind barbed wire on May 18, 1945, while waiting to cross the border into the neutral state of Lichstenstein. A thorough check by the customs office had to be performed for each of these displaced persons. Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Getty ImagesA man pulls a refugee's pram, attached by a cord to his bike, up a hill in Roncey, France on August 7, 1944.Fred Ramage—Keystone/Getty ImagesA man pulls a refugee's pram, attached by a cord to his bike, up a hill in Roncey, France on August 7, 1944.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Getty ImagesGroup of passengers from the Portuguese ship Serpa Pinto, which was stopped by a German submarine and ordered abandoned off Bermuda, are shown after their arrival in Philadelphia, May 31, 1944. The U-boat officers abandoned plans to sink the vessel and permitted the passengers to re-board her after receiving wireless orders from Berlin.APGroup of passengers from the Portuguese ship Serpa Pinto, which was stopped by a German submarine and ordered abandoned off Bermuda, are shown after their arrival in Philadelphia, May 31, 1944. The U-boat officers abandoned plans to sink the vessel and permitted the passengers to re-board her after receiving wireless orders from Berlin.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: AP
