When speaking of war, liberation usually refers to the process of an army driving conquerors out of an occupied territory. In the context of World War II, we usually speak of the Allies liberating Axis-held lands.
In terms of the Holocaust, liberation refers to the entry of Allied troops into concentration camps, as well as towns, cities, and villages, freeing Jews and other populations from German rule. The liberation of concentration camps was shocking for both the liberators and the liberated. For the liberating soldiers, the camps provided vivid images of what the Nazi Party’s murderous policies had meant for millions of innocent people. For the survivors of the Holocaust, the joy of freedom was obscured by the magnitude of their loss and the inconceivable distance between liberation and a return to normal life. Many, like Sol, also had to contend with strong feelings of shame and guilt which were associated with their sense of loss.
The arrival of U.S., British, or Soviet forces technically meant that Holocaust survivors were free, but liberation itself was often a difficult psychological process. Many survivors had become so accustomed to their state of persecution that it was the only reality they knew.
