A documentary by Charles Wheeler about the expulsion of Ethnic Germans from the Sudetenland in 1945 was broadcast. Just wondering did anyone see it and if so was it good??? I missed it.
I did, and like all of Wheeler's 2nd War programmes it was excellent, very balanced and with some fascinating interviews with survivors of Lidice. The expulsions may have been unjust, and tantamount to mass murder, but seem understandable to me after events like those relating to Heydrich's death. Horrible stuff, but very 'big' of the Czech leadership to acknowledge it in recent times.
It was horrible stuff alright VP, but its very hard to condemn the Czechs after what they had gone through, especially under Heydrich's reign. Wheeler was a fantastic journalist. I'm sure its on BBC player but I cant access it as I'm not resident in the UK.
Did not see the programme but the facts are that aout 3 million Germans were driven out,forceabily by rail into the Western occupied zones of Germany. The reason being that the Czech Republic did not ever again wish to be faced with "Sudetenland issue" again which they thought would once again lead to a loss of Czech territory. Of course it was harsh and lives were lost but it did not account to the level of suffering that the Czech people had to endure from the Nazis. The real crux of the matter was the break up of the Austro Hungarian Empire after Versailles.Hitler's aim and policy in falsely demonstrating his concern for the protection of the Sudetenland population was to unify German speaking populations by bringing them into his Greater German Reich. After the Sudetenland question had been settled in the autumn of 1938, without Czech consultation,he assured the international community that he had no further territorial ambitions.Then in March 1939, he took the whole of Czechoslovakia, again citing his motivation, as "the protector".
Just checking the iPlayer website for BBC4. BBC iPlayer - BBC Four - Tuesday 22nd Charles Wheeler: Shadow over Europe 9:30 pm - 10:10 pm (Not Available) BBC Four Charles Wheeler: Shadow over Europe - Tue, 10 Dec 2002 Uncovering how Czechoslovakia drove millions of ethnic Germans from from their homes in 1945.
Spidge-you might not. It was actually from a few years ago and was playing in tribute to the great Charles Wheeler who died recently.
