Thousands of Latvian refugees had landed in Germany in 1945, at the end of World War II. People of many diverse nationalities had fled from the enemy frontline, and in the case of the Baltic nations, from a renewed Soviet occupation. Refugees arriving in the war-devastated Germany had lost their homes, possessions and in many cases also their family members.

After the War the conquering nations: the USA, Britain, France and Russia divided Germany into occupation zones under their individual administration. To coordinate the placement and care of the many refugees, UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration) created Displaced Persons ("DP") Camps.

From the spring of 1945 the DP camps began to fill rapidly. The IRO (International Refugee Organization) replaced UNRRA as the administrative agency of the camps in 1947. There were hundreds of DP camps in Germany where refugees were mostly grouped by nationality. In 1950, when a large proportion of the refugees emigrated to the USA, Australia, Canada and other places, most of the camps were closed and Germany took over the administration of the remainder.

Approximately 100 000 Latvian refugees became "dīpīši" or "Dieva Putniņi" (Little Birds of God (using acronym DP)) as they often called themselves. They did not want to return to the Soviet-occupied Latvia, where they would be submitted to repressions by the Soviet regime, nor did they have a home elsewhere.