The German Expulsions (Vertreibung): History and Genealogy

Overview and Terminology

The term Deutsche Vertriebenen (German Expellees) refers to the approximately 12 to 14 million German citizens and ethnic German residents who were forcibly expelled or fled from the former eastern territories of Germany and German-speaking communities across Central and Eastern Europe between 1944 and 1950.

This event, known as the Vertreibung (Expulsion), was the chaotic, violent, and official conclusion to centuries of German presence in the region, fundamentally reshaping post-World War II Europe.

Vertreibung

Key Terminology

Understanding these terms is critical for differentiating between various migration waves:

Term German Meaning Context/Implication for Genealogy
Ostsiedlung Eastward Settlement The long historical process (13th–20th Century) of German migration that created the communities in the East.
Volksdeutsche Ethnic Germans People of German heritage living outside Germany's 1937 borders (e.g., in Russia, Romania, or the Balkans).
Heim ins Reich Home into the Reich The Nazi-era program (1939–1944) that repatriated Volksdeutsche before the main expulsions.
Vertreibung Expulsion/Forced Displacement The historical event itself (1944–1950).
Vertriebenen Expellees (Displaced Persons) The ancestral generation that experienced the event.
Umsiedler Resettlers A term applied to those displaced by the Heim ins Reich program. They usually have better records via the Bundesarchiv.

1. The Deep Roots: Ostsiedlung (Eastward Settlement)

The Ostsiedlung (Eastward Settlement) is the long-term historical context. Starting in the High Middle Ages and continuing through the 18th and 19th centuries, German-speaking populations moved eastward. They were often invited by local rulers (Slavic kings, Russian Tsars) to settle, find towns, and develop agriculture, establishing millions of ethnic Germans across Central and Eastern Europe in various linguistic and cultural enclaves.

2. The Ideological and Political Precursors

The mass expulsions of 1944–1950 were a direct, catastrophic result of German military defeat and the preceding ideologies that justified Germany's aggression. The Victors' decision to expel the Germans was framed by these historical events.

The Treaty of Versailles (1919)

The treaty ending World War I led to significant German territorial losses, notably the creation of the Polish Corridor, separating East Prussia. This left large German-speaking minorities in newly formed states (Poland, Czechoslovakia). The resulting nationalist resentment and the demand to retrieve these "lost" territories were central to the rise of the Nazi party.

Lebensraum and Ethnic Cleansing

The Nazi ideology of Lebensraum ("living space") provided the core justification for the brutal invasion and colonization of Eastern Europe. The goal was to secure land for ethnic German settlement, which necessitated the systematic removal, enslavement, and extermination of millions of Slavic and Jewish peoples. The expulsions of 1944–1950 were thus a massive counter-displacement to the ethnic cleansing and colonization that Germany initiated.

The Holocaust and the Chain of Displacement

The Vertreibung is inextricably linked to the Holocaust (the Shoah). The Allied powers' decision to forcibly remove German populations post-1945 was made in the immediate aftermath of the most comprehensive genocide in history, which was executed by the German state. This action was widely viewed as a necessary security measure to prevent future German aggression and irredentism, and as a form of delayed ethnic retribution for the crimes committed during the occupation.

3. The Wartime Displacement Phases

Ancestral displacement during World War II and its aftermath occurred in two distinct, massive phases:

Phase A: Volksdeutsche – Heim ins Reich (1939–1944)

This was the state-run, organized process of relocating Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans from outside the 1937 German borders) into areas annexed by the Reich, often taking over property stolen from local Jewish and Polish populations.

Phase B: The Mass Expulsions (Vertreibung) (1944–1950)

This is the true Vertreibung—the mass flight and forced removal of Germans from territories lost to Poland, the Soviet Union, and Czechoslovakia following the advance of the Red Army and the subsequent Potsdam Agreement (1945), which formalized the transfer of populations across the new Oder-Neisse Line border.

4. The Emotional Legacy: Inherited Heimweh

For the descendants of the Expellees, the journey into this history is often driven by a powerful, inherited emotion: Heimweh.

Understanding Heimweh

The German word Heimweh translates literally to "home-ache," but it is far more profound than simple homesickness. It is an intense, painful, and romanticized longing for an ancestral home (Heimat) that may no longer exist in the form the ancestors remembered, or one that the descendant has never personally visited.

For the Vertriebenen generation, this ache was for a lost physical place. For their children and grandchildren, this feeling is often inherited.

Intergenerational Memory and Trauma

This inherited Heimweh is a recognized form of intergenerational trauma or transgenerational memory. The feeling is passed down not through genetics, but through:

The Role of Genealogy

For the descendant, the genealogical process becomes a therapeutic tool to resolve this inherited ache. Researching the Vertreibung and the Heimatort is a way to:

  1. Validate the Feeling: To replace an abstract, painful longing with concrete names, dates, and locations.

  2. Complete the Story: To honor the silence and finally give a narrative to the parents' and grandparents' unresolved past.

  3. Achieve Resolution and Integration: To complete the unfinished narrative of displacement. By finding and acknowledging the Heimatort, the descendant can finally integrate the Eastern heritage, halting the inherited cycle of loss and turning the painful Heimweh into a foundational element of their own identity.

5. Genealogical Research Strategy: The Practical Path

The core challenge in Vertreibung genealogy is the loss of the original geographical context. The strategy is to move from the post-war German name to the current foreign archive.

Step 1: Determine the Exact Origin (Heimatort)

Step 2: Bridge the Language Gap with the Meyers Gazetteer

The Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutschen Reiches (Meyers Gazetteer) is the authoritative geographical directory for the German Empire, showing administrative borders before 1918. Its online version is indispensable for Vertreibung research because it links old names to modern coordinates and records.

How to Use Meyers Gazetteer

  1. Search the German Name: Search for the Dorf or Kreis name (e.g., Schönthal, Kreis Preußisch Holland).

  2. Analyze the Entry: The entry will tell you:

  1. Identify the Modern Name: Use the location on the map to find the current Polish (e.g., PasƂęk) or Russian name (e.g., Slavsk).

Step 3: The Dual Search: Civil vs. Church Records

Once you have the original Heimatort, you must determine where your record falls based on its type and date.

Record Type Holding Country Primary Archive Location
Civil Records (1874+) Poland, Russia, Czech Republic Archiwum PaƄstwowe (Polish State Archives) or their equivalents. Records follow the land.
Evangelical (Protestant) Church Records Germany Evangelisches Zentralarchiv Berlin (EZAB) or regional German archives (e.g., Leipzig, Schwerin). These records were repatriated to Germany after WWII.
Catholic Church Records Poland, Czech Republic Diocesan Archives in the current city (e.g., Archdiocese of WrocƂaw) or Archiwum PaƄstwowe. These often remain in the region.

Step 4: Archival Correspondence and Support

Once the correct archive (foreign state archive, German church archive, or diocesan archive) is identified, you must contact them. This is the single biggest barrier to success, as communication must be formal, detailed, and often in the local language (Polish, Russian, Czech).

Offer of Pro Bono Support: Connecting the Past to the Present

Due to the complexity of navigating foreign archives and drafting letters in languages like German, Polish, or Russian, we offer pro bono assistance to help you draft the formal archival query letter. This service is provided freely because we believe the recovery of these records is vital to resolving the cycle of displacement and loss caused by the Vertreibung. If you have the specific Heimatort and the approximate date range, please reach out so we can help you formulate the official request and maximize your chance of a successful reply.

Step 5: Contacting the Holding Archive (The Original Documents)

Now that you have the modern location and the corresponding archive identified, you can request the original documents. The principle is: Records follow the land, but church records follow the church.

Original German Territory Current Holding Country Primary Archive Type to Contact
East Prussia, Pomerania, Silesia Poland Archiwum PaƄstwowe (Polish State Archives) for Civil Records. EZAB (Berlin) for many Evangelical Records.
Nördliches Ostpreußen (Königsberg Area) Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) State Archives of Kaliningrad Oblast. Contact is significantly more challenging and may require a Russian-speaking proxy researcher.
Sudetenland Czech Republic State Archives in regional capitals (e.g., Prague, Plzeƈ).

6. Major Areas of Origin (Heimatgebiete) and Records

7. Personalizing the Research: Case Study Examples

Tying the general terminology to specific family names and dates makes the historical process actionable.

Family Name Displacement Type Key Genealogical Focus
Senger Family Likely Vertriebenen (Post-1945 Expellees) The Two-Archive Search: The case of Frieda Senger demonstrates the need to first find the Heimatort using post-war German documents (like the HOK or Suchdienst files), and then use that location name to search the current holding archives (e.g., Polish or Soviet/Russian records) for her original vital documentation.
Gaede Family Varies by location Searching for the Gaede surname across Vertreibung and Volksdeutsche records can show the complexity of displacement—did they flee from East Prussia (Vertriebene) or were they resettled from Russia (Umsiedler)?
Recht & Wedhorn The Expellee Generation These names are tied to the generation that experienced the displacement. Genealogical work involves tracing their lineage backwards from their first post-war location in Germany to their last known address in the East.

Recommended Personal Resources for Further Study

If you are unfamiliar with these historic events and time, we recommend reading:

Credits and Licensing

Compiled by: Mark Rabideau, Opa & Professional Genealogist.
All materials licensed: CC BY-ND 4.0 by eirenicon llc.