Insula - A Latvian Memoir

Brief History of DP Assembly Center “Insula”

In 1945 after the end of World War II in Germany, there were about ten million homeless people. Millions were of different European countries occupied by the Nazi military forces and who had been brought here as foreign laborers or refugees fleeing from the advancing Soviet Forces.

Insula Displaced Person Assembly Center was established in October of 1945 when several hundred Latvian refugees were moved from Bruckmühl near Bad Aibling to Strub near Berchtesgaden where eight, slightly unfinished buildings had been planned and constructed as a sports school for the Federation of German Girls. Located in the most picturesque Berchtesgadener Land deep in the Alps of southern Bavaria, it became a home to some 700 Latvian refugees for the next four years.

Between 1947 to its closing in 1949, Insula served as a study center for the Lutheran World Federation service. In July of 1947, the National Lutheran Council of USA called Dr. Howard Hong of St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, to serve as Senior Representative. Soon he was joined by James Anderson and Kenneth Senft, and all three comprised the staff of the new department of Service to Refugees, LWF.

In 1949, most of the refugees of Insula had been resettled to various countries. Remaining refugees were transferred to Traunstein and other refugee camps within the region.

The Center was closed November 30, 1949. International Refugee Organization of the United Nations established a home for refugees who could not immigrate to other countries because of their age and chronic ailments. Contractors completed renovation work in one year and it was dedicated as Altersheim Insula on May 6, 1951. It is operated as an assisted care facility for the elderly and retaining the original name of Insula.


From DP Camp to Senior Care Center



Displaced Persons Assembly Center, closed November 30, 1949                        



Altersheim Insula, dedicated May 6, 1951