Where did European refugees go during WWII?

[JayQueue]

I hadn't thought about it before, but where did the entire population of Europe go during WWII? Entire cities were being bombed and serving as important points for either Army, so where did the civilians who lived in the those cities go when the shells and bombs started falling? Wouldn't almost the entire population of France and Germany have to go elsewhere to wait out the war?

[Ezekiel25:17]

They went into their basement or something similar. How about reading and studying.

[unpleasant]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_evacuation_and_expulsion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Displaced_persons_camp

[daily666]

I hadn't thought about it before, but where did the entire population of Europe go during WWII? Entire cities were being bombed and serving as important points for either Army, so where did the civilians who lived in the those cities go when the shells and bombs started falling? Wouldn't almost the entire population of France and Germany have to go elsewhere to wait out the war?

They were bombed as well, how the hell they could've gone elswhere to wait out the war?

...what a retard :cantbeli:

[Atlantic Friend]

I hadn't thought about it before, but where did the entire population of Europe go during WWII? Entire cities were being bombed and serving as important points for either Army, so where did the civilians who lived in the those cities go when the shells and bombs started falling? Wouldn't almost the entire population of France and Germany have to go elsewhere to wait out the war?

They relocated to faraway (or not so far away) places, usually in the countryside, wherever people had rooms to accomodate them. European governmlents also tried to tackle the problem by granting them housing in abandoned buildings (meaning sometimes refugee A would end up living in the house refugee B had left some months earlier).

Those who couldn't leave the combat zones lived in basements, among the ruins. After all, and if you exclude long sieges like Leningrad or Stalingrad or Berlin, or small towns that was nearly obliterated during operations, the frontlines shifter quickly enough to give refugees some kind of respite. Same goes for the bombed cities : even though damage was substantial and standards oif living crumbled, it was still physically possible to live in a bombed city, or in its immediate surroudnings. Barring that, you suddenly remembered you had some country bumpkins in the family and dropped by to see if they could accomodate you.

Refugees did travel a lot - for example, my hometown of Poitiers, which is close to the Atlantic coast, got refugees from Belgium and France's Eastern regions (it even became the Belgian Government-in-Exile's capital for some months).

[Fiber]

Many Norwegians went to Sweden.

[orange]

Many Norwegians went to Sweden.
We got alot of Finns and Danes to..

And in the end of the war, alot of Germans!

[Hydro]

On the whole, only the children were evacuated from major cities and industrial centres in the UK. It was usually the case that the adults were working in essential war work in the cities and therefore had to stay, though a lot of children were evacuated as early as late 1939, anticipating bombings. The Luftwaffes major bombing raids were at their most intense early in the war (1940/1/2) Later in the war, the concern was not the Luftwaffe, but V1/2 cruise/ballistic missiles.


Mainland Europe obviously had a much greater refugee problem, as their towns and cities became not only aerial bombing targets, but post June-1944, also became the battlegrounds in which Allied and Axis armies clashed.

[Gluten]

finland sent alot of children to sweden, its sad but i think i was the best option they had.

[JayQueue]

Thanks for the replies except daily666

...what a retard:cantbeli:

[Labud]

Many Serbs escaped from "Independent State of Croatia" to the parts of Serbia occupied by Germans running from Ustshas.

[ando]

went into your bomb shelter or next doors or into anwhere underground.Dont tell you thaught that the entire population of europe go else where? how would there be food? and equipment made ? chimpanzies ?

chidren got evacuated and women worked simple as

I suggest you look in the history books !!

[perdurabo]

some Polish children where relocated as far as NewZeland and Australia, usually British children where relocated to Scotland and sometimes to USA, PPL from europe sometimes to midle east but usually stayed at home or went to their families in countryside

[David Tate]

They relocated to faraway (or not so far away) places, usually in the countryside, wherever people had rooms to accomodate them. European governmlents also tried to tackle the problem by granting them housing in abandoned buildings (meaning sometimes refugee A would end up living in the house refugee B had left some months earlier).

Those who couldn't leave the combat zones lived in basements, among the ruins. After all, and if you exclude long sieges like Leningrad or Stalingrad or Berlin, or small towns that was nearly obliterated during operations, the frontlines shifter quickly enough to give refugees some kind of respite. Same goes for the bombed cities : even though damage was substantial and standards oif living crumbled, it was still physically possible to live in a bombed city, or in its immediate surroudnings. Barring that, you suddenly remembered you had some country bumpkins in the family and dropped by to see if they could accomodate you.

Refugees did travel a lot - for example, my hometown of Poitiers, which is close to the Atlantic coast, got refugees from Belgium and France's Eastern regions (it even became the Belgian Government-in-Exile's capital for some months).


Nice post... and you didn't even maker fun of the poster. Refreshing.

[stoddy9311]

Konstantin Simonov wrote of his first sight in Stalingrad

"We crossed a bridge over one of the guillies intersecting the city. I shall never forget the scene that opened out before me.This gully, which stretched to my left and right,swarmed with life, just like an anthill dotted with caves. Entire streets had been excavated on either side. The mouths of the caves were covered with charred boards and rags.The women had utilized everything that could be of service."

[Vioman]

went into your bomb shelter or next doors or into anwhere underground.Dont tell you thaught that the entire population of europe go else where? how would there be food? and equipment made ? chimpanzies ?

chidren got evacuated and women worked simple as

I suggest you look in the history books !!

What kind of answer is that? If you are so full of knowledge, why not share it with him?

[madjack]

Originally they went to Casablanca. Then Rick and Louie left town to join the Free French garrison in Oran. I'm not sure what happened after that.