Emergency Accommodations in "Nissen Huts" in Hamburg (1946)

"Nissen Huts," named after their English designer P. Nissen, were used after 1945 as emergency quarters for Germans who had been bombed out of their homes and for refugees and expellees as well. They were especially prevalent in the British occupation zone. They were made from individual prefabricated sheets of corrugated tin and had no insulation at first. (Up to that point, they had been built mostly in African colonies and other warm environments.) This photo shows Nissen Huts in Hamburg in 1946. There was a time when as many as 10,000 Hamburg residents lived in these dwellings. The last Nissen Huts were removed in 1958. Photographer unknown.

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