Expulsions - Vertreibung (Flight and Expulsion of Germans)
The Flight and Expulsion of Germans (Flucht und Vertreibung), collectively known as the Vertreibung, refers to the forced mass migration and resettlement of ethnic German populations from Central and Eastern European territories following World War II. This massive demographic shift primarily affected the regions east of the Oder-Neisse line (former East Prussia, Pomerania, Silesia), as well as German minorities in Czechoslovakia (Sudeten Germans), Hungary, and Yugoslavia. The expulsions were carried out under the terms of the 1945 Potsdam Agreement by the Allied powers, intended to permanently resolve border disputes and the issue of German minorities in the region following the atrocities of the Nazi regime.
Flucht aus Tangermuende Saxony-Anhalt Germany- 1 May 1945 | The above image documents the Vertreibung/Flucht. Sourced from an Vertreibung memorial archive (c. 2010); used for educational, non-commercial purposes.
This event involved the movement of an estimated 12 to 14 million people between 1944 and 1950, making it the largest forced population movement in European history. For researchers, these events are crucial for understanding family dispersal, the end of centuries of German settlement in Eastern Europe, and the post-war history of both modern Germany (where the refugees, or Heimatvertriebene, were resettled) and the countries they left behind. The resources below provide necessary historical context and documentation on this complex humanitarian and political tragedy.
Expulsions - Vertreibung: Key Resources 🌍
- Deutsches Historisches Museum (DHM) - Flight, Expulsion, Integration (Historical Overview)
- A Post-World War II Tragedy: The Expulsion of the Germans [...] 1945-49 (Academic Study)
- Bund der Vertreibenen (BdV - Federation of Expellees)
- Die Vertreibung der Deutschen aus den Gebieten jenseits von Oder und NeiĂźe (German Federal Agency for Civic Education - bpb)
- Flucht und Vertreibung (Planet Wissen Overview)
- Forgotten lands? Remembering flight and expulsion in Poland’s former German territories (Notes from Poland)
- German Expulsion (Wikipedia Overview)
- People in Glass Houses (Flucht und Vertreibung)
- Postwar forced resettlement of Germans echoes through the decades (The Conversation)
- Statistics Of Poland’s Democide (University of Hawaii study on war-related deaths)
- The expulsion of Germans after World War II (Absolute Astronomy)
- The Seizure of Eastern German Territories (World Future Fund)
- Zentrum gegen Vertreibung - Center Opposed to Ethnic Cleansing (ZGV)
- Foundation Flight, Expulsion, Reconciliation (Stiftung Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung) (Official German Federal Foundation)
Credits
Compiled by Mark Rabideau, Opa & Professional Genealogist.