--- title: World Refugee Day: LIFE Magazine Photographs WWII Refugees description: In honor of World Refugee Day on June 20, a look back at LIFE's 1944 coverage of the arrival of World War II refugees in Oswego, N.Y. canonical: https://time.com/4360157/new-york-refugees-world-war-2/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-20T12:00:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:50:28.275Z og:title: World Refugee Day: LIFE Magazine Photographs WWII Refugees og:description: A look back at LIFE's 1944 coverage of the arrival of World War II refugees in Oswego, N.Y. og:url: https://time.com/4360157/new-york-refugees-world-war-2/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4595ab7be41b31d5/698896d58e0601829046636c/160607-world-war-ii-refugees-05.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2322 og:image:height: 1306 og:image:alt: WWII Refugees in New York og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: World Refugee Day: LIFE Magazine Photographs WWII Refugees twitter:description: A look back at LIFE's 1944 coverage of the arrival of World War II refugees in Oswego, N.Y. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4595ab7be41b31d5/698896d58e0601829046636c/160607-world-war-ii-refugees-05.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Refugees in New York and the 'Limitless Personal Tragedies' of World War II > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) Jun 20, 2016 12:00 PM UTC  Refugees from Europe at Fort Ontario in Oswego, N.Y., 1944. Refugees from Europe at Fort Ontario in Oswego, N.Y., 1944. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) Jun 20, 2016 12:00 PM UTC Before war came, they had not necessarily had much in common. Eva Bass, pictured in the first photo above, was a nightclub singer; Julius Hirschler, who appears in the seventh slide, was a banker. The 981 other people with whom they traveled had lives of their own, too. By August of 1944, however, they all shared one title: refugee. By the time LIFE Magazine’s Alfred Eisenstaedt met these individuals to photograph them for [an Aug. 21, 1944, story](https://books.google.com/books?id=9lAEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false), they had all arrived in Oswego, N.Y., where they were given army barracks in which to live. They had come from refugee camps in Italy, to which they’d made their way from 17 different countries, and had been designated to spend the rest of World War II living there under American protection. As LIFE explained, their arrival fell [outside the bounds of the immigration quotas](http://time.com/4030159/evian-conference/) that the U.S. then used to determine who could come to stay, so they would have to go elsewhere when that time came. It was not until 1951 that the United Nations would—inspired by the [massive wave of displaced persons](http://time.com/4029800/world-war-ii-refugee-photos-migrant-crisis/) that came in the wake of World War II—[officially offer its own definition](http://time.com/4022123/refugee-history-migrant-crisis/) of what it meant to be a refugee. The narrow early definition was used to determine who would receive certain benefits, adding weight to a word that was already heavy. As the U.N. marks [World Refugee Day](http://www.un.org/en/events/refugeeday/) on Monday, these 1944 photographs are a fitting reminder that, while the label “refugee” matters, so do the individuals who bear it.  Caption from LIFE. With her baby in her arms and her young son tagging behind, Mrs. Eva Bass comes through gate to her new home at Fort Ontario. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. The refugess line up after dinner in front of the mess halls to get two towels and one cake of soap each. Many of them were hesitant to let LIFE Photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt take their pictures until they had a chance to clean up. Others were worries by the raggedness of their clothing. They said the Army took all their clothes and disinfected them in gas chambers. During the process, holes were burned and suits ruined by discoloration. "We are sorry because we wanted to look our very best when we arrived here," they explained. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Near-sighted V. Zobotin fills out customs declaration. One elderly Jew got out his prayer shawl, knelt in the midst of all the luggage to give thanks. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Refugees from Europe at Fort Ontario in Oswego, NY, 1944. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Refugees from Europe at Fort Ontario in Oswego, N.Y., 1944. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Refugees from Europe at Fort Ontario in Oswego, N.Y., 1944. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Refugees from Europe at Fort Ontario in Oswego, N.Y., 1944\. From the Aug. 21, 1944 issue of LIFE magazine. Alfred Eisenstaedt—LIFE Magazine  Refugees from Europe at Fort Ontario in Oswego, N.Y., 1944. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Refugees from Europe at Fort Ontario in Oswego, N.Y., 1944. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Refugees carried their own luggage to the customs depot. Boys from Oswego were hired to help but many refugees clung to possessions. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. At camp gate Victor Franco from Tripoli waits with his daughter for his wife who is pregnant and rode in hospital car. He was afraid he might lose track of her, even though attendants told him he could see her in the hospital. He said he would wait right where he was. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Up camp street, arm in arm, stroll Mr. and Mrs. Michele Mikhailoff, artists from Russia. They walked to the shore of Lake Ontario. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Refugees from Europe at Fort Ontario in Oswego, N.Y., 1944. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Refugees from Europe at Fort Ontario in Oswego, N.Y., 1944. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Americans from Oswego line high wire fences of Fort Ontario to stare curiously at the refugees. Here one of the foreigners walks over to talk with them. He scratches his bare leg while explaining that he has a son in the U.S. Army. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. The Dresdner family, mother, father and nine children, were confined in two concentration camps in France. In September 1943 they made their escape to Italy. Here a hungry daughter, not knowing quite how to eat gravy, simply pitches in. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. The Albrecht family in their new barracks home. He is Jewish, she is Catholic. Their children are Peter, 10, and Renata, 5\. Before war, he operated a theater in Vienna. In 1939 he went to Italy, was followed later by his wife and children. 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