The America that welcomed: Armenian DPs from postwar Europe to LA

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series titled America at 250: An Armenian American Retrospective, running throughout 2026 in The Armenian Weekly, curated by former Weekly editor Dr. Khatchig Mouradian and dedicated to the 250th anniversary of America’s founding and the history of Armenian American life. The March 2026 magazine issue, also edited by Dr. Mouradian, is dedicated to the same theme.

On Jan. 7, 1948, President Harry S. Truman in his State of the Union address said, “Many thousands of displaced persons, still living in camps overseas, should be allowed entry into the United States. I again urge Congress to pass suitable legislation at once so that this Nation may do its share in caring for the homeless and suffering refugees of all faiths. I believe that the admission of these persons will add to the strength and energy of this nation.”¹Harry S. Truman, “Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union,” January 7, 1948, The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/annual-message-the-congress-the-state-the-union-6. In the America of 2026, it is hard to comprehend that such a resolve by a president and an attitude toward the plight of refugees was a reality in the not-so-distant past.