Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. While there is no single official definition, the term generally includes Jews who lived under Axis rule, those who fled to neutral or Allied nations, and sometimes non-Jewish groups—like the Roma—who faced similar systematic persecution. Over time, the definition has expanded to be more inclusive of various experiences of displacement and survival.