I remember reading sometime ago that after the war and after the new national lines had be established, that the Silesian and Pomeranian Germans were forcibly evicted from what was now western Poland. I cannot find my source so if I am wrong, please let me know. My questions are: Were East Prussian and Sudeten Germans also forcibly removed? I read in Wikipedia (oh brother) that the Prussians were, but I would like another, real source. Were there incidents of large-scale forced repatriation of Germans in the west, from territories incorporated into France, Belgium and Denmark?
The wiki article has as one of its sources an article written by the European University Institute which I've read before. It's well researched and a good starting point: http://cadmus.iue.it/dspace/bitstream/1814/2599/1/HEC04-01.pdf
But, but, but, what I wanted you to do was read the entire report and give me a quick 10-15 sentence outline of what it said in it's 92 pages, including pertinent facts and best "sound bite quality" outrages. Isn't that how it is supposed to work in this forum? But wait, I have more than one posting already, so I guess that I don't qualify. Thanks for posting Kyt, I looked over it only briefly. We're about to head to my father's house, about 60 miles away. It is Father's Day here in the States. I got breakfast in bed from my daughters. Anyway, I'll read it sometime over the next few days. The other question remains. Were ethnic Germans forced out of re-occupied portions of France, Belguim and Denmark? I'll keep looking, but not today. I'll be riding horses with my daughters.
Were East Prussian and Sudeten Germans also forcibly removed? I read in Wikipedia (oh brother) that the Prussians were, but I would like another, real source. yes Were there incidents of large-scale forced repatriation of Germans in the west, from territories incorporated into France, Belgium and Denmark? not to the same extent - indivduals and families rather than whole communities in France. However, Denmark actually took in German refugees from the east: Rescue, Expulsion, and Collaboration: Denmark's Difficulties with its World War II Past - Vilhjálmur Örn Vilhjálmsson and Bent Blüdnikow he Jewish Agency asked Danish chief rabbi Marcus Melchior to ask the Danish government to give the refugees preliminary safe haven there. Rabbi Melchior said that if the request was granted, Danish Jewry should "mend the wounds" of these refugees and "their material welfare should be taken care of by the whole of the Danish nation."34 The Danish authorities, however, refused, partly attributing this to the eighty-five thousand German refugees who were already in Denmark. Bet you'll say that that was too brief
Many thanks, Kyt. Your searching is appreciated. Slightly off topic, but it is my thread. It is interesting about the Danes. They were declared Righteous Among Nations by Yad Vashem for their actions in saving almost their ENTIRE Jewish population from the ovens by spiriting them across the sea to Sweden. Speaks highly of them.
Hi Jeff There's a book by Hans-Ulrich Treichel called "Lost" which is based around his family's flight from the East . Just before his mother died she told him he had a "lost" brother and he spoke about how he always knew there was a secret in his family . This novel is his response . Probably not relevant to your request . I have seen TV programmes about these communities still trying to return to their original homes , but I don't know if that was UK or German TV. Regards, Linden
The forced repatriation of Germans from Poland was also tied up with a similar movement of Poles from what is now modern day Ukraine and Belarus and was indicative of Stalin's policy of (1) moving the German border westwards and (2) doing likewise to the Polish border both with the aim of removing the ethnic card from future plans of either country. For example the Polish population of the city of Lvov, which was a majority pre-1939, was moved to the former German city of Breslau post-1945. The Sudeten Germans by and large moved into Bavaria having been kicked out by the Czechs on their own initiative with moral support from the Soviets.
About 3 million Germans were forcibly expelled from the Czechoslovakia Sudentenland in 1945/1946.The policy being that Czechoslovakia would never have to endure another "Sudentenland Question" As Soviet/ Polish border was pushed westwards,the German /Polish prewar border was moved westwards into eastern Germany and the German land requisitioned by the Polish State,the Germans moved out to what became the GDR.others stayed on and were recognised as ethnic Germans.In the last few years there has been some Polish population disagreement with the ethnic Germans who after 50 years from the end of the Second World War have erected war memorials to the German fallen. There also have been recent cases where the former German owners of estates seized by the Polish State and now contained within the new Poland, have tried to claim them back using the EU as the conduit.
What an interesting and informative web site. Konigsberg the then jewel of East Prussia was the longest trip for Bomber Command.Both bomb and gardening operations took Bomber Command here and the round trip could take up to 11 hours. The raid from Dunholme Lodge by No 44 Squadron Lancaster LM 655 took the record to 11 hours 45 minutes on 29 August 1944 on a round trip of 1900 miles.LM 655 had to wait and circle the target for 20 minutes before being called up to bomb by the Master Bomber who was controlling 190 Lancasters. Taking off at 2023, LM655 returned after being routed on the outward leg over Sweden and instructed not to overfly towns although the route still attracted Swedish flak.With Dunholme Lodge covered in fog,the return was diverted to Fiskerton,about 5 miles from base where a FIDO runway welcomed them back home.
The Polish western frontier was set by Stalin, Roosevelt went along with it but Churchill was against it. The population east of the Oder Neisse line was according to the 1939 German census 9,677,000 excluding Danzig 380,000 and the Germans in Poland around 1,000,000. Almost all these people either ran away before the Red Army or were expelled by the Poles. Maybe 1,000,000 remained in the anexed areas many of these because they could claim Polish ancestry, not difficult in Silesia, or were needed for some reason. Aproximatly 1,500,000 Poles moved west from the area anexed by the Soviet Union the Poles also solved a Ukranian minority problem in eastern Poland by moving 300,000? Ukranians into the former German territories.
I will add the english version of an article and also a video (graphic content): Massacre in Czechoslovakia: Newly Discovered Film Shows Post-War Executions - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International Video: Masakr nìmeckých civilistù v Praze dirigovali Sovìti, tvrdí historici - iDNES.cz
