2RHPZ
05-30-2004, 03:19 AM
Well, this is the story that starts flames in Czech republic in a second! Unbeliveable amount of Czechs, almost 94 per cent, support this, what some called the first ethnic cleansing in Europe. I don´t want to judge both sides because I think we cannot evaulated everythings after 60 years, without emotions which were very high at this time. Only I want is to bring a story ... that may be not really interesting to you.
Expelling Germans from Czechoslovakia, 1945-1946
An ugly chapter at the end of the war.
James Quinn
Originally posted on the THC forum in September 2002.
In 1945 and 1946 almost two million Germans were forced to abandon their homes
in Czechoslovakia and relocate to either Germany or Austria. During this
expulsion as many as 30,000 Germans may have died. This ethnic cleansing was
done by Czechs, however the USSR, UK and USA all had full knowledge of it and
gave it their tacit approval.
BACKGROUND:
There had been a sizable German minority living in Bohemia and Moravia since at
least the 17th century. During the years of the Austro-Hungarian empire the
German population enjoyed certain benefits not offered Czechs. Many Czechs came
to see the Germans as invaders of their land, oppressors of the true Slavic
inhabitants. ?Carpetbaggers?. When Czechoslovakia gained its independence in
1918 the German minority was given protection by several minority laws, however
the Czechs clearly became the dominate group.
In the 1930´s approximately 3 million Germans lived in Bohemia and Moravia,
sharing the land with 7 million Czechs. The Germans tended to live and work
within their own community and not mix a great deal with the Czechs. The German
Fascist party in Czechoslovakia (financially supported by the German Nazi party)
received up to 85% of the German votes in elections. When the Nazi German
government demanded the annexation of German areas of Czechoslovakia most German
residents of these areas supported the German demands. Most Czechs thought their
German neighbors had been disloyal citizens of Czechoslovakia and had helped
bring about the collapse of the nation.
In 1939 when Germany occupied the Czech regions of Bohemia and Moravia the
ethnic Germans in these regions once more assumed a dominate role in their area.
Germans tended to hold the seats of power and to oppress the Czech population.
Tens of thousands of Czechs were killed during the Nazi occupation for racial or
political reasons.
THE PLAN:
During the war the Czech leadership in exile formulated a radical plan for the
post war reconstruction of their nation. They reached the conclusion that any
Germans who had not been loyal to Czechoslovakia while it was an independent
nation would have to be driven out of the country upon its liberation. This was
not a secret plan. It was openly presented to the various allied leaders.
Stalin, Churchill and FDR all gave the plan their approval, however at the time
it was stated that the expulsion of the Germans would have to be done in an
"orderly and humane" fashion.
When Czechoslovakia was liberated in 1945 this plan was put into action. Two
phases of ethnic cleansing occurred, the first lasting for approximately three
months in 1945 was called the "wild transfer". The second phase, lasting through
1946 was called the "organized transfer".
WILD TRANSFER:
The "Wild Transfer" occurred during a period of time in which there was not a
strong central government in Czechoslovakia. The main pillar of order during
this time was the Soviet Red Army. The Red Army declared it was not interested
in what the Czechs did with their German neighbors and did not involve
themselves with events. This allowed local Czech citizen groups and paramilitary
organizations to treat their German neighbors in an arbitrary fashion. While
there doesn´t appear to have been much central organization to the expulsions,
all across Czechoslovakia ethnic Germans were driven from their homes and forced
to either move to Germany or Austria, or were collected into relocation camps.
By the end of 1945, Czech soldiers, security forces, and local militias had
already expelled over 700,000 Sudeten Germans to occupied Germany and Austria.
As many as 30,000 Germans died on forced marches, in disease-filled
concentration camps, in summary executions, and massacres. Though historians
disagree widely on the number of deaths a recent report from a Czech-German
Joint Commission on Historians agreed on a range from 19,000 to 30,000 dead
The commission´s figures included more than 6,000 victims of acts of violence
and 5,000 estimated suicides. (1)
The following characterized the expulsion of Germans during this period:
murder, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, extra-judicial executions,
rape and ****** assaults, confinement of civilian population in ghetto areas,
forcible removal, displacement and deportation of civilian populations,
deliberate military attacks or threats of attacks on civilians and civil an
areas. (2)
In addition to the 700,000 forcible expulsions a further 300,000 Germans fled
their homes out of fear.
ORGANIZED TRANSFER:
Following the Wild Transfer period the Czechoslovak government asserted its
authority over the whole of the nation. Apparently at this point the excesses of
the Wild period were stopped, however the expulsion of Germans still
continued, however now in a less harsh form. During this period a further one
million Germans were forced to abandon their homes and resettle in Germany or
Austria.
POST WAR:
The issue of the German expellees became a political issue during the Cold War.
Most German expellees settled in West Germany or Austria and so fell in the
American sphere of influence. Since Czechoslovakia was in the Soviet area of
influence the conflict between the German expellees and the Czechoslovak
government took on the character of a Cold War feud. German expellee social
organizations were for a time supported by American funding. After the end of
the Cold War a dialogue developed between the German expellee community and the
new Czechoslovak government. Czechoslovak president Václav Havel publicly
apologized for the expulsions and rejected the concept of collective guilt in
any form.
This issue remains alive today as certain Germany expellees are attempting to
gain financial restitution from the current Czech government for what occurred
in 1945-1946. Some nationalist members of the Austrian government have wanted to
make the settlement of these claims necessary before the Czech Republic can join
the European Union.
(1) National Mythologies and Ethnic Cleansing: The Expulsion of Czechoslovak
Germans in 1945 by Eagle Glassheim, Central European History, vol. 33, no. 4,
pg 463.
(2) Ibid, pg 466
Expelling Germans from Czechoslovakia, 1945-1946
An ugly chapter at the end of the war.
James Quinn
Originally posted on the THC forum in September 2002.
In 1945 and 1946 almost two million Germans were forced to abandon their homes
in Czechoslovakia and relocate to either Germany or Austria. During this
expulsion as many as 30,000 Germans may have died. This ethnic cleansing was
done by Czechs, however the USSR, UK and USA all had full knowledge of it and
gave it their tacit approval.
BACKGROUND:
There had been a sizable German minority living in Bohemia and Moravia since at
least the 17th century. During the years of the Austro-Hungarian empire the
German population enjoyed certain benefits not offered Czechs. Many Czechs came
to see the Germans as invaders of their land, oppressors of the true Slavic
inhabitants. ?Carpetbaggers?. When Czechoslovakia gained its independence in
1918 the German minority was given protection by several minority laws, however
the Czechs clearly became the dominate group.
In the 1930´s approximately 3 million Germans lived in Bohemia and Moravia,
sharing the land with 7 million Czechs. The Germans tended to live and work
within their own community and not mix a great deal with the Czechs. The German
Fascist party in Czechoslovakia (financially supported by the German Nazi party)
received up to 85% of the German votes in elections. When the Nazi German
government demanded the annexation of German areas of Czechoslovakia most German
residents of these areas supported the German demands. Most Czechs thought their
German neighbors had been disloyal citizens of Czechoslovakia and had helped
bring about the collapse of the nation.
In 1939 when Germany occupied the Czech regions of Bohemia and Moravia the
ethnic Germans in these regions once more assumed a dominate role in their area.
Germans tended to hold the seats of power and to oppress the Czech population.
Tens of thousands of Czechs were killed during the Nazi occupation for racial or
political reasons.
THE PLAN:
During the war the Czech leadership in exile formulated a radical plan for the
post war reconstruction of their nation. They reached the conclusion that any
Germans who had not been loyal to Czechoslovakia while it was an independent
nation would have to be driven out of the country upon its liberation. This was
not a secret plan. It was openly presented to the various allied leaders.
Stalin, Churchill and FDR all gave the plan their approval, however at the time
it was stated that the expulsion of the Germans would have to be done in an
"orderly and humane" fashion.
When Czechoslovakia was liberated in 1945 this plan was put into action. Two
phases of ethnic cleansing occurred, the first lasting for approximately three
months in 1945 was called the "wild transfer". The second phase, lasting through
1946 was called the "organized transfer".
WILD TRANSFER:
The "Wild Transfer" occurred during a period of time in which there was not a
strong central government in Czechoslovakia. The main pillar of order during
this time was the Soviet Red Army. The Red Army declared it was not interested
in what the Czechs did with their German neighbors and did not involve
themselves with events. This allowed local Czech citizen groups and paramilitary
organizations to treat their German neighbors in an arbitrary fashion. While
there doesn´t appear to have been much central organization to the expulsions,
all across Czechoslovakia ethnic Germans were driven from their homes and forced
to either move to Germany or Austria, or were collected into relocation camps.
By the end of 1945, Czech soldiers, security forces, and local militias had
already expelled over 700,000 Sudeten Germans to occupied Germany and Austria.
As many as 30,000 Germans died on forced marches, in disease-filled
concentration camps, in summary executions, and massacres. Though historians
disagree widely on the number of deaths a recent report from a Czech-German
Joint Commission on Historians agreed on a range from 19,000 to 30,000 dead
The commission´s figures included more than 6,000 victims of acts of violence
and 5,000 estimated suicides. (1)
The following characterized the expulsion of Germans during this period:
murder, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, extra-judicial executions,
rape and ****** assaults, confinement of civilian population in ghetto areas,
forcible removal, displacement and deportation of civilian populations,
deliberate military attacks or threats of attacks on civilians and civil an
areas. (2)
In addition to the 700,000 forcible expulsions a further 300,000 Germans fled
their homes out of fear.
ORGANIZED TRANSFER:
Following the Wild Transfer period the Czechoslovak government asserted its
authority over the whole of the nation. Apparently at this point the excesses of
the Wild period were stopped, however the expulsion of Germans still
continued, however now in a less harsh form. During this period a further one
million Germans were forced to abandon their homes and resettle in Germany or
Austria.
POST WAR:
The issue of the German expellees became a political issue during the Cold War.
Most German expellees settled in West Germany or Austria and so fell in the
American sphere of influence. Since Czechoslovakia was in the Soviet area of
influence the conflict between the German expellees and the Czechoslovak
government took on the character of a Cold War feud. German expellee social
organizations were for a time supported by American funding. After the end of
the Cold War a dialogue developed between the German expellee community and the
new Czechoslovak government. Czechoslovak president Václav Havel publicly
apologized for the expulsions and rejected the concept of collective guilt in
any form.
This issue remains alive today as certain Germany expellees are attempting to
gain financial restitution from the current Czech government for what occurred
in 1945-1946. Some nationalist members of the Austrian government have wanted to
make the settlement of these claims necessary before the Czech Republic can join
the European Union.
(1) National Mythologies and Ethnic Cleansing: The Expulsion of Czechoslovak
Germans in 1945 by Eagle Glassheim, Central European History, vol. 33, no. 4,
pg 463.
(2) Ibid, pg 466