The speaker is Christina Wirth, researcher at the IEG. Upon arrival in post-war Germany, humanitarian aid organizations had to take over the care of millions Displaced Persons from military authorities. It became obvious, that the categorization “Displaced Person” was too broad to describe and handle the diverse group of DPs. The humanitarian aid organizations – from UNRRA to smaller groups – took part in multiple re-classifications of DPs in subcategories, such as Jewish DPs or Hard-Core DPs, which eventually resulted in the term refugee. In her presentation, Christina Wirth will introduce the categorization practices with a case study about the small village Kaunitz in Westphalia, Germany, where approximately 800 Jewish women were liberated from a death march and placed in German civilian homes by the liberating American army forces. In her dissertation, Christina Wirth analyzes the different agents and practices that took part in categorizing people in transit between 1945 and 1951, including the individual’s agency and self-classification. After the Americans left, the Jewish Relief Unit as well as the officials of the British Occupation Zone of Germany and the German major were responsible to take care of the DPs in Kaunitz. It will become apparent how the different agents tried to influence the categorization of these 800 women and how categorizations matter, since they are key for attesting political rights and influence to people in transit. This event is free, although registration via the link below is required.