For Holocaust survivors, how they got to Canada depended on many factors that were out of their hands.  Immigrating to Canada was a challenge, since the Canadian government only let people immigrate in certain situations.

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No two survivors' journeys to Canada were the same. During the war, some did not come to Canada by choice. The British government labelled German Jews as enemy aliens and interned them in Canada without their say.

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Many groups worked hard to change Canada’s strict immigration laws to create more ways for survivors to move to Canada. At Displaced Persons (DP) camps in Europe, they worked to help survivors start their new lives.

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Canada allowed a range of survivors to immigrate. Some came after they were sponsored to reunite with family members. Many came because they had useful skills, like making clothes as tailors and furriers. Some came to work on farms and help grow more food for Canadians. Some were orphans and had no one left to care for them.

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Use this section to learn about the legal methods that Holocaust survivors used to come to Canada.