Jewish aid organizations had been given access to the camps to distribute aid five days after the
arrival of the Jews in Lübeck. Before the arrival of the refugees in Lübeck British pressure
compelled these Jewish aid organizations to provide aid, otherwise:
their legitimacy would have been placed in doubt.
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJJDC), "Joint", lorries delivered food, cigarettes, clothing and tinned kosher meat, to the camp. The refugees received numerous parcels, particularly from the USA and Canada. The Lübeck Jewish community provided fruit and vegetables. In the evenings, meals were prepared from these stocks of food in the camp kitchen, or cooking areas in front of the barracks. The Danish and Swedish Red Cross also provided humanitarian aid. Contibutions also arrived from other DP camps.
Staff of the Jewish Relief Unit took care of the sick, and hygien conditions. On 22nd September, Jewish doctors, nurses and a pharmacy undertook medical care of the camp inhabitants, formerly provided by the German personnel. Those patients who could not be cared for in the camp hospital were admitted to hospitals in Lübeck. These were frequently women in the last stages of pregnancy, shortly before delivery. 53 babies were born in the British Zone.
The state of health of the people exhausted from the long odyssey improved relatively quickly. However, the hygien situation in the camps often gave cause for concern. The drinking water supply, the primitive washing facilities, and the inadequate latrines caused particular concern.
