Expulsion of Germans after World War II

During World War II, many disaffected Transylvanian Saxons sided with Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union. When Romania signed a peace treaty with the Soviets in 1944, the German military began withdrawing the Saxons from Transylvania; this operation was most thorough with the Saxons of the Nösnerland. Around 100,000 Germans fled before the Red Army, but Romania did not conduct the expulsion of Germans as in neighboring countries at war's end. However, more than 80,000 Saxons were arrested by the Soviet Army and sent to labour camps in Si ...

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Transylvanian Saxons, Transylvanian Saxons - Medieval settlements, Transylvanian Saxons - Medieval organization, Transylvanian Saxons - Legal organization, Transylvanian Saxons - Religious organizations, Transylvanian Saxons - Fortification of the towns, Transylvanian Saxons - Privileged class, Transylvanian Saxons - Loss of elite standing, Transylvanian Saxons - World War II and afterwards, Transylvanian Saxons - 20th century population figures

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Emperor Joseph II attempted to revoke the Unio Trium Nationum in the late 18th century. His actions were aimed at the political inequality within Transylvania, especially the political strength of the Saxons. Although his actions were ultimately rescinded, many Saxons began to see themselves as being a small minority opposed by nationalist Hungarians and Romanians. Although they remained a rich and ...

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Transylvanian Saxons, Transylvanian Saxons - Medieval settlements, Transylvanian Saxons - Medieval organization, Transylvanian Saxons - Legal organization, Transylvanian Saxons - Religious organizations, Transylvanian Saxons - Fortification of the towns, Transylvanian Saxons - Privileged class, Transylvanian Saxons - Loss of elite standing, Transylvanian Saxons - World War II and afterwards, Transylvanian Saxons - 20th century population figures

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The main motives for the apprehension of suspected collaborators were: Trial and, if guilty, punishment of traitors, for example members of the Waffen-SS British Free Corps. Revenge for those killed, especially those killed on ethnic grounds in the Holocaust (principally amongst Jews and Russians) A desire after a bitter war, to see those responsible face justice, and be characterised as criminals under a court of law (See Nuremburg Trials). To ensure that the acts done were brought to light ...

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Pursuit of Nazi collaborators, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Background, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Means of pursuit, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Controversial aspects, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Pursuit in specific countries, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Argentina, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Australia, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Belgium, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Czechoslovakia, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - France, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Netherlands, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Norway, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Poland, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Soviet Union, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - United Kingdom, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Yugoslavia

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Main article: Nazi-Soviet population transfers. Following the Nazi-Soviet pact, Soviet leader Josef Stalin permitted the departure of Germans from territories occupied by Soviet Union, notably Bessarabia and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, which traditionally had a large German minority. The Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans) were then resettled in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, but also in Zamosc County as decided by Generalplan Ost. In ...

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German exodus from Eastern Europe, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Nazi-Soviet population transfers, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Evacuation, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Expulsion, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Emigration of Germans from Eastern Europe

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At the Potsdam Conference in August 1945, after Germany's unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945, the Allies divided Germany into four military occupation zones – French in the southwest, British in the northwest, United States in the south, and Soviet in the east. The territories east of the Oder-Neisse line (East Prussia, Eastern Pomerania and Silesia) were removed from Germany and put under Polish administration, effectively shifting Poland westward. A transfer of Germans from Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary was agreed on, but the co ...

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History of Germany since 1945, History of Germany since 1945 - The division of Germany, History of Germany since 1945 - Two Germanies, History of Germany since 1945 - West Germany, History of Germany since 1945 - East Germany, History of Germany since 1945 - East-West Relations, History of Germany since 1945 - The unification of East and West Germany, History of Germany since 1945 - Background, History of Germany since 1945 - Settlement, History of Germany since 1945 - Germany today

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According to most English-language encyclopedias, such as the Encyclopædia Britannica, the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica and the Columbia Encyclopedia, as well as the CIA World Factbook, the term Central Europe is taken to include: Switzerland Germany Liechtenstein Austria Slovenia Alpine countries (west to east) Poland Czech Republic SlovakiaSee also:

Central Europe, Central Europe - Between the Alps and the Baltics, Central Europe - Culturally Central-European, Central Europe - Central Europe behind the Iron Curtain, Central Europe - The new members of the European Union, Central Europe - Remnants of the Holy Roman Empire

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Moravia occupies most of the eastern third of the Czech Republic including the South Moravian Region and the Zlín Region, as well as parts of the Moravian-Silesian, Olomouc, Pardubice, Vysocina and South Bohemian regions. In the north, Moravia borders Poland and Czech Silesia; in the east, Slovakia; in the south, Lower Austria; and in the west, Bohemia. Its northern boundary is formed by the Sudetes mountains which become the Carpathians in the east. The meandering Thaya flows through the border country with Austria and there is a protected area on both sides of t ...

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Moravia, Moravia - Geography, Moravia - Economy, Moravia - History, Moravia - People, Moravia - Other, Moravia - Sources

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Modern-day Czech Silesia is mainly that small part of Silesia that remained within Austria at the end of the First Silesian War (see War of the Austrian Succession) in 1742, when the rest of Silesia was ceded to Prussia. It was organised as the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia with its capital at Opava (in German Troppau). In 1900, the Duchy occupied an area of 5140 km² and had a population of 670,000. In 1918 the former Duchy formed part of the Sudetenland Province of German Austria along with Northern Mora ...

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Czech Silesia, Czech Silesia - Geography, Czech Silesia - History, Czech Silesia - People, Czech Silesia - Sources

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The following based on Matthew White's web site [3] lists the significant democides where the death rate can be estimated to exceed 1,000,000. Accurate figures are difficult to establish and many estimates tend to reflect particular biases. In speaking of the Rwanda and Burundi democides White concludes that the toll was "700,000 to 1,600,000 more or less". Several of these amounts, Mao's China, Stalin's USSR and others, include a significant portion of deaths due to famine, sometimes deliberate in order to punish rebellious areas. According ...

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Democide, Democide - Accusations of democide, Democide - Significant 20th century democides, Democide - Critics of Rummel's calculations

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The Moravians today are a Slavic ethnic group who speak various dialects of Czech. Some Moravians regard themselves as an ethnically distinct group, others consider themselves to be ethnically Czech. In the census of 1991 1,362,000 (13.2%) of the Czech population described themselves as being of Moravian nationality. In the census of 2001 this number had decreased to 380,000 (3.7% of the population). Sigmund Freud was born in Freiberg, Moravia (now Příbo ...

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Moravia, Moravia - Geography, Moravia - Economy, Moravia - History, Moravia - People, Moravia - Other, Moravia - Sources

Read more here: » Moravia: Encyclopedia II - Moravia - People

Main article: Emigration of Germans from Eastern Europe. Between 1950 and 1990, 1.4 million people emigrated from Poland to Germany claiming German ancestry (770 000 of them in the 1980s). With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, large numbers of Russian Germans (Volgadeutsch) took advantage of Germany's liberal law of return to leave the harsh conditions of the Soviet successor states. By 1999 about 1.7 million former Soviet citizens of German ori ...

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German exodus from Eastern Europe, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Nazi-Soviet population transfers, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Evacuation, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Expulsion, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Emigration of Germans from Eastern Europe

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Main article: Expulsion of Germans after World War II. The remaining ethnic German residents, some of whom had become German citizens during the world war, were expelled or fled from present-day Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Kaliningrad Oblast, and other East European countries. Up to 16.5 million Germans of the post-war population were forced to leave. Some fled in fear of the Red Army, and others were persecuted because of their activities during the war or for other reasons. They were sent to makeshift camps or cities ...

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German exodus from Eastern Europe, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Nazi-Soviet population transfers, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Evacuation, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Expulsion, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Emigration of Germans from Eastern Europe

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Main article: World War II evacuation and expulsion. Late towards the end of the war German authorities ordered the evacuation of areas close to the advancing front. Not only people who had been citizens of Nazi Germany (Reichsdeutsche) but also ethnic Germans (Volksdeutsche) were successfully evacuated (around 5 million people) before the rest were overrun by the Red Army. ...

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German exodus from Eastern Europe, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Nazi-Soviet population transfers, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Evacuation, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Expulsion, German exodus from Eastern Europe - Emigration of Germans from Eastern Europe

Read more here: » German exodus from Eastern Europe: Encyclopedia II - German exodus from Eastern Europe - Evacuation

This pursuit takes many forms, both individual and organised. Several organizations hunt for and pursue individuals they believe complicit in Nazi war crimes. Others were due to after-war spontaneous retaliation committed by populations within occupied countries. Some of the main ways this pursuit took place were: Individuals who reported they saw someone that they recognised, who had now assumed an identity and were slipping back into civilian life undetected. Specific individuals named and sought by g ...

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Pursuit of Nazi collaborators, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Background, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Means of pursuit, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Controversial aspects, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Pursuit in specific countries, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Argentina, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Australia, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Belgium, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Czechoslovakia, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - France, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Netherlands, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Norway, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Poland, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Soviet Union, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - United Kingdom, Pursuit of Nazi collaborators - Yugoslavia

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For books, articles, data, and analyses regarding democide, see Rummel's website. [2] Accusations of mass killings by a government are relatively common. Less common are well-documented cases with enough evidence to support the accusation. Almost all accusations are disputed to some degree, although the evidence in some cases is stronger than in others. For instance, many of the figures cited in Death by Government, in which R.J. Rummel first coined the term, have been criticized for not taking into account numbers of deaths caused by the absence of government by means s ...

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Democide, Democide - Accusations of democide, Democide - Significant 20th century democides, Democide - Critics of Rummel's calculations

Read more here: » Democide: Encyclopedia II - Democide - Accusations of democide

However, Rummel himself uses a broader sense of government responsibility, including all kinds of "reason-result" relationships between a government action and the actual death of person. Moreover, in enumerating the number of democide victims, he does not require actual evidence of deaths as caused by the government; a statistical increase in fatalities is, for Rummel, effective proof. Some critics, including some professional historians, have disputed Rummel's methods of calculating death tolls. He compares the statistical data befo ...

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Democide, Democide - Accusations of democide, Democide - Significant 20th century democides, Democide - Critics of Rummel's calculations

Read more here: » Democide: Encyclopedia II - Democide - Critics of Rummel's calculations

The area lies to the east and west of the city of Ostrava and comprises much of the modern Moravian-Silesian Region and, in its far west, a small part of the Olomouc Region around the city of Jeseník. After Ostrava, the most important cities are Opava and Český Těšín, that part of the border city of Cieszyn which lies within the Czech Republic. It is situated in the Sudetes mountains which become the Carpathians in the east. Its major rivers are the Oder and the Opava (w ...

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Czech Silesia, Czech Silesia - Geography, Czech Silesia - History, Czech Silesia - People, Czech Silesia - Sources

Read more here: » Czech Silesia: Encyclopedia II - Czech Silesia - Geography

Following World War II, large parts of Europe that were culturally and historically Western became part of the Eastern bloc, which effectively neutralized the concept of Central Europe. Following the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the end of the Cold War, this distinction has again come into use, often to cover those countries that had been Warsaw Pact members but are now members of NATO and the European Union. During the Cold War, the English term Central Europe was increasingly applied only to the westernmost former Warsa ...

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Central Europe, Central Europe - Between the Alps and the Baltics, Central Europe - Culturally Central-European, Central Europe - Central Europe behind the Iron Curtain, Central Europe - The new members of the European Union, Central Europe - Remnants of the Holy Roman Empire

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The Moravians today are a Slavic ethnic group who speak various dialects of Czech. Some Moravians regard themselves as an ethnically distinct group, others consider themselves to be ethnically Czech. In the census of 1991 1,362,000 (13.2%) of the Czech population described themselves as being of Moravian nationality. In the census of 2001 this number had decreased to 380,000 (3.7% of the population). Sigmund Freud was born in Freiberg, Moravia (now Pribo ...

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Moravia, Moravia - Geography, Moravia - Economy, Moravia - History, Moravia - People, Moravia - Other, Moravia - Sources

Read more here: » Moravia: Encyclopedia II - Moravia - People

The Western Allies turned over increasing authority to German officials and moved to establish a nucleus for a future German government by creating a central Economic Council for their zones. The program later provided for a West German constituent assembly, an occupation statute governing relations between the Allies and the German authorities, and the political and economic merger of the French with the British and American zones. On May 23, 1949, the Grundgesetz (Basic Law), the constitution of the Federal Republic of German ...

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History of Germany since 1945, History of Germany since 1945 - The division of Germany, History of Germany since 1945 - Two Germanies, History of Germany since 1945 - West Germany, History of Germany since 1945 - East Germany, History of Germany since 1945 - East-West Relations, History of Germany since 1945 - The unification of East and West Germany, History of Germany since 1945 - Background, History of Germany since 1945 - Settlement, History of Germany since 1945 - Germany today

Read more here: » History of Germany since 1945: Encyclopedia II - History of Germany since 1945 - West Germany

Around 60 BC the Celtic Boii people withdrew from the region and were succeeded in turn by the Germanic Quadi and in the 6th century the Slavic tribes. At the end of the 8th century the Moravian Principality came into being in present-day south-eastern Moravia, Záhorie in south-western Slovakia and parts of Lower Austria. In 833 this became the state of Great Moravia with the conquest of the Nitrian Principality (present-day Slovakia and parts of northern Hungary). Great Moravia went on to encompass neighbouring Bohemia, present-day Hungary, Lusa ...

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Moravia, Moravia - Geography, Moravia - Economy, Moravia - History, Moravia - People, Moravia - Other, Moravia - Sources

Read more here: » Moravia: Encyclopedia II - Moravia - History