During the Second World War, over 60 million Europeans were driven from their homes and forced to seek solace in countries far away from their own, through no fault of their own.

Images VIA 

This process included what the UK termed the Middle East Relief and Refugee Administration (MERRA), which allowed at least 40,000 refugees to set up homes in Palestine, Syria and Egypt during this crisis. Bearing in mind now that hundreds of thousands of refugees from countries like Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq are desperately trying to find a place to live in Europe and most governments seem intent on turning them away, and it really puts a new perspective on it.

To aid with this idea, Sanna Dullaway has colourised some photographs of WII refugees making the journey from France, Poland, Germany and Belgium to countries that are safer to the east and south of them.

Powerful stuff that illustrates how refugees aren’t always people from far away lands that some people might not be able to identify with – it could quite easily happen to you and where would you be if no other country would offer to house you?

For more colourised photographs, check out these colourised images from 1940s America. Slightly less depressing.