Summary

Black and white image of a group of people including Dimka and Vojislav Stojkovic (on the far left) standing in front of a building in a displaced persons camp in Kassel, Germany circa 1947. Dimka Stojkovic (nee Dimitrinka Nikolova Caraschobanova) was born in Bulgaria in 1919. After long and harrowing wartime experiences in German labour camps, she met her future husband Vojislav Stojkovic, a captured soldier from the former Yugoslavia, now Serbia. They ended up in the same refugee camp in West Germany, and were married there in 1947.

The couple migrated to Melbourne via Naples on the Protea in 1948. They went directly to Bonegilla Migrant Reception Centre in Albury, although they both quickly found work in Melbourne. In 1952 they had a daughter, Nada, and in 1956 another daughter, Lily. They purchased a house in Footscray in the 1950s and took in many boarders, mostly recently arrived migrants. Dimka died in 1998 and Vojislav in 1987.

Description of Content

A group of 24 people - men and women, standing in front of a building. A row of men kneel across the front, and a second row of men and women stand across the back.The men are predominantly dressed in shirts and trousers, some wear jackets. The women are wearing dresses or blouses.

Physical Description

Digital image.

Significance

This photograph forms part of the Stojkovic family collection which represents the experiences of thousands of displaced persons and refugees from post World War II Europe and their efforts to survive both during the war and afterwards. It also illustrates the challenges faced by these migrants on arrival in Australia as they attempted to begin new lives often with limited English and little support.

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