 |
| Flight and expulsion of Germans during and afterWorld War II |
|---|
| (demographic estimates) |
| Background |
| Wartime flight and evacuation |
| Post-war flight and expulsion |
| Later emigration |
| Other themes |
The evacuation ofGerman people fromCentral and Eastern Europe ahead of theSovietRed Army advance during theSecond World War was delayed until the last moment. Plans to evacuate people to present-dayGermany from the territories controlled byNazi Germany, including from theformer eastern territories of Germany as well as occupied territories, were prepared by theGerman authorities only when the defeat was inevitable, which resulted in utter chaos. The evacuation in most of the Nazi-occupied areas began in January 1945, when the Red Army was already rapidly advancing westward.[1][2]
Until March 1945, the Nazi authorities had evacuated from the eastern territories (prewar Germany, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia) an estimated 10 to 15 million persons, Germans as well as citizens of other nations.[3] In the territory of Germany, whichStalin gave to Poland after the war, there were 10 million residents in 1944–1945, including 7.3 million permanent residents, orReichsdeutsche (including 1 million ethnic Polesspared by the expulsions, and 6.3 million ethnic Germans), in addition on German territory to be evacuated were 2.5 million transients consisting of 1.5 million bombing raid evacuees from the heartland of Nazi Germany and of 1 millionslave workers of many nationalities making products for the SSOstindustrie andDAW).[4]
Polish historians put the number of "Germans" in early 1945 on the annexed territory of postwar Poland at 12,339,400 (8,885,400 in prewar German territory, 670,000 from prewar Poland; 900,000 ethnic Germans resettled in Poland; 750,000 administrative staff and 1,134,000 bombing raid evacuees). Along with the native German civilians, theVolksdeutsche from the east (i.e. the German-speakers) were evacuated or fled as well.[5] Most of the affectedVolksdeutsche had settled intooccupied Poland before March 1944.[6] They took up farms and homes of Poles forcibly removed or executed during theethnic cleansing operations in the preceding years.[7] Meanwhile, the number of returning Reich Germans who had fled eastward temporarily in fear of the British and American bombings in the centre of Germany is also estimated between 825,000[8][9] and 1,134,000.[7]
Apart from the evacuation of civilians, the Germans also evacuatedNazi concentration camp prisoners from theWVHA controlled enterprises,[10] who were forced to walk to the Austrian and German borders as the Soviets approached from the east.[11] The GermanSS evacuated camp after camp as the war drew to a close, sending at least 250,000 men and women ondeath marches starting in March and April 1945. Some of those marches to the geographical centres of Germany and Austria lasted for weeks, causing thousands of deaths along the road.[1][11]
Statistics dealing with the evacuations are incomplete, and there is uncertainty that estimates are accurate because of the atmosphere of theCold War period, when various governments manipulated them to fit ideological narratives.[12] According to a recent estimate in Germany, up to six million Germans may have fled or had been evacuated from the areas east of theOder-Neisse line before theRed Army and the Soviet-controlledPolish People's Army took hold of the entire territory of postwar Poland.[13] The West German search service confirmed the deaths of 86,860 civilians from the wartime flight and evacuations from those areas.[14]
The plans to evacuate the German speaking population westwards from part of theEastern andCentral Europe including from cities and towns in theEastern Gaue ofNazi Germany were prepared by various Nazi authorities towards the end of the war.[11][15] According to postwar affidavit submitted in 1947 by the Nazi governor of Warsaw,GruppenführerLudwig Fischer: "in roughly mid-August [1944]Gauleiter – of theWarthegau (Greater Poland) district –Greiser directed a huge column of trains and other transportation means filled with goods, furniture, textiles, and medical supplies from Warsaw to Posen (Poznań). During the whole time that fighting was ongoing Greiser evacuated not only gasoline, but everything that he could."[16] In late 1944 theGauleiter ofDanzig-West PrussiaAlbert Forster prepared his own evacuation plan called "Fall Eva" to evacuate cultural and strategic goods from the region in accordance with the 'scorched earth' policy. From late 1944 until May 1945 682,536 refugees, 109,337 soldiers and 292,794 wounded passed through the seaports ofDanzig, Gdynia, and through theHel Peninsula.[17]
Nazi officials estimated that in February 1945 ten million refugees were on the move to escape the Russian advance. According to historians Hahn and Hahn humanitarian considerations did not play a role in Nazi evacuation planning, the Nazis considered the evacuation of the entire population as not feasible and that it was better that the population remain in territory occupied by the Soviets.[18] By most current accounts drawing on research carried out in Poland, up until theend of the war 7,494,000 persons were evacuated from post-war Polish territory to the centre of Germany including 3,218,000 fromSilesia, 2,053,000 fromEast Prussia, 1,081,000 from East Pomerania, 330,000 fromEast Brandenburg, and 812,000 fromGeneral Government.[4][19] Among them, were 2,000,000 Germans who had been evacuated to, or had been resettled during the war intooccupied Poland, and who took up homes of Poles subjected toethnic cleansing operations in the preceding years.[13] Before the end of war the number of Germans who evacuated from Czechoslovakia is estimated at 150,000 to 370,000; from Hungary 50,000–60,000; from Romania 100,000; from Yugoslavia 200,000–300,000 and from the USSR 324,000. According to sources, the total number ranged from 10 to 15 million persons.[13] Many of those who were evacuated during the war returned to their homes in the east after May 1945; only to be transferred back to Germany in the following years.[20] The West GermanSchieder commission estimated based on German ration card data from February/March 1944 that the total civilian German population (des deutschen Bevölkerungsstandes) east of theOder-Neisse line was 11,924,000 at the end of 1944.[21] Including 9,758,000[22] in pre-war German territory; 134,000 in Memel[23] 404,000 in Danzig[23] and 1,602,000 on occupied Polish territory.[23] According to Schieders calculations included in the total civilian population are 825,000[22] persons evacuated eastwards to avoid Allied air raids and 1,174,000Reichsdeutsche and re-settlers from other European nations.[24] Schieder estimated that out of the 11.9 million population in late 1944 east of theOder-Neisse line at the end of the war 4.4 million remained on Polish territory.[21] More recent research in Poland puts the Germans in the fall of 1944 on the current Polish territory at 12,339,400 including 8,885,400 on pre-war German territory and Danzig; 670,000 in occupied Polish territory; 900,000 re-settlers from other European nations; 750,000 German occupation administrators and 1,134,000 persons evacuated eastwards to avoid Allied air raids[25] According toRudiger Overmans the West German search service was able to confirm the deaths of 93,283 civilians due to the wartime flight and evacuations including 86,860 from the territory of present-day Poland and the RussianKaliningrad region.[14] According to theGerman Federal Archives 100,000 to 120,000 civilians were killed during the wartime flight and evacuation from the territory east of theOder Neisse line.[26]
In most cases, however, the implementation of the plans was either delayed untilAllied forces had already advanced into the areas to be evacuated, or it was prohibited entirely by the Nazi apparatus. Despite the rapid advances of theRed Army, the German authorities in many areas forbade leaving one's place of residence without a permit and an officially valid reason. Millions of Germans were left in these areas until combat conditions overwhelmed them, as a direct result of both the draconian measures taken by the Nazis towards the end of the war against anyone even suspected of 'defeatist' attitudes (such as suggesting evacuation) and the fanaticism of many Nazi functionaries in their mindless support of useless 'no retreat' orders. When the German authorities finally gave people the order to leave their homes, the available means of transport (such as trains and ships) were inadequate, and this forced many to leave most of their belongings behind. The first mass movement of German civilians in theeastern territories included both spontaneous flight and organized evacuation starting in the summer of 1944 and continuing through to the spring of 1945.[27]
The guards and inmates of theMajdanek camp were evacuated starting on April 1, 1944. However most of the evacuation efforts commenced in January 1945, when Soviet forces were already at the eastern border ofGreater Germany, including the largestdeath marches.[11]
The firstVolksdeutsche to exit Russian territories were theBlack Sea Germans and those from aroundLeningrad. They were resettled and/or evacuated already in 1942–43, partly toGreater Poland (thenReichsgau Wartheland) and partly to Germany proper.[28] In December 1943 the city ofBerdychiv was evacuated by the Reich Germans, the GermanVolksdeutschen, agencies of the civil government, the government of the country, and the able-bodied population.[29] Because of the provisions of the Yalta Agreement, all Soviet citizens in Germany at war's end had to be repatriated. About 200,000Soviet Germans, resettled during the war in Poland by the Nazis, were deported by the Soviet forces and sent toForced settlements in the Soviet Union in Siberia and Central Asia[30][31][32] FromSlovakia 70,000–120,000 Germans were evacuated at the end of 1944 and the beginning of 1945.[33] Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Germans panicked and fled to the west in 1945, particularly fromEast Prussia, attempting to seek safety within parts of Germany not yet occupied.[34]Nazi propaganda widely publicized the details of the Soviet atrocities, such as theNemmersdorf massacre of October 1944, in an attempt to strengthen German morale. The Soviet propaganda machine encouraged a harsh and vengeful attitude toward the Germans. While advancing toward the West, soldiers of theRed Armycommitted a variety of atrocities, most notably rape, mutilation, murder and looting.[34]
The evacuation plans forEast Prussia were ready in the second half of 1944. They consisted of both general plans and specific instructions for each individual town. The plans encompassed not only people but also industry andlivestock.[35] The evacuation was planned to be conducted in three waves: the first two of them in July and October 1944, when about 25% of the 2.6 million population, mostly elderly, women and children, were supposed to be evacuated toPomerania andSaxony.[36]
In fact the population ofMemel east of theNeman River was evacuated to the western parts of East Prussia in late summer 1944. On October 7, 1944, that area was the only part of East Prussia completely evacuated.[37] On October 16, 1944, theRed Army reached German territory for the first time in World War II in the southern part of East Prussia nearGumbinnen, encountering German civilians and committing theNemmersdorf massacre. After theWehrmacht managed to reconquer large parts of the territory, the East PrussianGauleiterErich Koch partially conceded the requests of the Wehrmacht and gave permission to evacuate a small strip of 30 km directly behind the front line. Civilians from that area were sent to the northern parts of East Prussia.[38][39]
The third wave of evacuation happened in January 1945, when theEast Prussian Offensive was already in progress. While Nazi authorities propagated the faith in theFinal victory, any individual initiatives involving evacuation was labelled asdefeatism.[39] Most civilians left their homes just hours before Red Army units overran them, and were often directly involved in combat.[37][39][40] At the same time Nazi representatives, like Gauleiter Koch who had prepared two steamboats in the harbour ofPillau for his personal use, were the first to escape to the west. After the Red Army reached the coast of theVistula Lagoon nearElbing on January 23, 1945, cutting off the overland route between East Prussia and the western territories,[41] the only way to leave was to cross the frozen Vistula Lagoon and to try to reach the harbours ofDanzig (Gdańsk) orGdingen(Gdynia), to be evacuated by ships taking part inOperation Hannibal. This phase of the evacuation followed two major routes: westwards, towards Danzig andPomerania, and northwards, towardsKönigsberg andPillau port.[42] About 450,000 Germans fled East Prussia over the frozen Vistula Lagoon and were then evacuated by ship fromBaltic port cities.
In January 1945 about 3,000 inmates of the East Prussian subcamps of theStutthof concentration camp were murdered in themassacre of Palmnicken.[1][43]
According to West German figures out of a pre-war German speaking population (deutschsprachige Bewohner) in East-Prussia of 2,473,000; 511,000 were killed or missing (including 210,000 military personnel). Some 301,000 civilians died due to the wartime flight and post-war expulsions.[44][45] In total, some 1,200,000 people managed to escape to Germany, while about 800,000 pre-war inhabitants remained in East Prussia as of the summer of 1945.[45][46] The number of fatalities is disputed by historianIngo Haar who maintains that they were inflated by the West German government during theCold War,[47][48][49][50] Haar pointed out that the West German search service was able to confirm 123,360 civilian fatalities in East Prussia due to the wartime flight and post-war expulsions[51]
The evacuation ofPomerania was also delayed. It was further complicated by the influx of the Germans evacuated fromEast Prussia. At the end of February 1945, the authorities ordered the evacuation to be suspended.[52] This delay resulted in the land evacuation routes soon being blocked by the advancing Soviet and Polish forces.Kolberg, the main seaport within the German-held pocket, was declared aFestung and became the center for sea-based evacuation of both civilians and military fromFarther Pomerania. Germans who were evacuated on ships were landed either in German seaport cities west of theOder River, or in Denmark, where internment camps were set up by the Danes after the war.[53] In total almost 2.2 million people were evacuated this way,.[54]
The evacuation of the 4.7 million population ofSilesia began on January 19, 1945. The first orders concerned the elderly, women and children ofUpper Silesia.[54][55]
About 85%[citation needed][dubious –discuss] of theLower Silesian population was evacuated in 1945, first across theOder River and then toSaxony or toBohemia.[citation needed] However, many of theSilesians ignored the evacuation orders, believing that their knowledge ofPolish and their Polish provenance would spare them the horrors feared by Germans.[56]
February 1945 the Red Army approached the city of Breslau (nowWrocław).GauleiterKarl Hanke declared the city aFestung to be held at all costs. Hanke finally lifted a ban on the evacuation of women and children when it was almost too late. During his poorly organised evacuation in early March 1945, 18,000 people froze to death in icy snowstorms and −20 °C weather.
Civilians ofAachen were evacuated in Summer 1944;[57] most leaders left, taking records, but excluding Aachen about one third of the population stayed. By 1945 the Nazi government approved of most civilians not evacuating, fearing the chaos from a wave of eastern and western refugees meeting in the middle of Germany.[58]
'; and Jan Misztal, PWN 1990, page 83.
In March 1944, Greiser sent a telegram to Hitler reporting that the Gau now had one million Germans: "full of pride and joy I may report to you, My Führer; as the first success of this real Germanization process, that today the number of one million has been reached". Greiser raised the proportion of Germans in the Warthegau from 6.6 percent of the population in 1939 to 22.9 percent by April 1944.[page 192]
Note 167: trial of Ludwig Fisher. Evacuation of Warsaw alone encompassed 1,502.5 tons of goods, including 15 tons of medicine, 25 tons of soap, 352 tons of paper, 342 tons of steel goods, 62 tons of steel machine parts, 208 tons of agricultural machinery, 24.5 tons of leather goods, 265 tons of textiles; among other items.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)Die Vertreibung der deutschen Bevölkerung aus den Gebieten östlich der Oder−Neiße, Band 1, München 1984 (B. Nitschke, 2000, table 1); and Jan Misztal, PWN 1990, page 83.