This brief study of the 1945 expulsion of German populations from Eastern-Central and Eastern Europe does not by any means pretend to be a complete and exhaustive analysis of a subject so massive, complex and controversial. Moreover, it is selective: in dealing with the reception of the expellees it focuses on West Germany, which though most extensively involved, is nevertheless only one of the many countries affected by the exodus. Yet the writer feels that even by presenting barely the funda mentals he can still hope to make some contribution to a field which -at least in the English speaking world - is far from being explored, analyzed and evaluated. His concentration on West Germany has been stimulated by two factors. First, this is the part of the former Reich which is most immediately affected by the transfer. Second, as a result of this involvement it is in West Germany that documentation and literature on the question are most extensive. Indeed, to obtain proper information and data from those countries within the Soviet orbit which are in any way linked with the problem is difficult and at times even impossible. For obvious reasons, in these countries interest is centered, and quite understandably, not on the expulsion of the Germans, but rather on the transfer, dispersion, and annihilation of their own peoples under the Nazi conquest, events, which, in turn, many Germans prefer to keep forgotten.

Inhalt

I. Exodus Teutonicus.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Approximate Number and Place of Origin of the Refugees.- 3. Conditions under which the Migration Occurred.- 4. Conditions Found in the Receiving Places.- II. Motives of the Great Flight.- 1. Motives of those Germans who Moved out before the Expulsion.- 2. Motives of those Germans who Stayed at Home.- 3. The Three Phases of the Exodus.- III. The Legal Basis of the Expulsion, the Potsdam Agreement.- 1. The Protocol.- 2. Motives of the Soviets and its Dependencies.- 3. It Was Hitler Who Started It.- 4. The Expulsion, Symptom of Nationalism or Effect of Sovietization ?.- 5. Share and Responsibility of the Western Two.- 6. Motives of the Western Two.- IV. Fundamentals Concerning the Settlement of the Newcomers, Their Socio-Economic Integration in West Germany.- 1. From Chaos to Consolidation.- 2. Socio-Economic Integration.- 3. Permanent 'Political Camps' ? A Second Arab-Israeli Issue ? Spread of Communism ?.- 4. The German Guilt Complex and Revision.- 5. A Curious Impact on the International Economic Plane.- V. The Role of the Expellees in the 'German Miracle'.- 1. An Overlooked Aspect of the 'Miracle'.- 2. Turning a Liability into an Asset.- 3. The New Wave of Industrialization and the Refugees.- VI. The Impact of the Newcomers on West Germany's Socio-Cultural Geography.- 1. Shifts in West Germany's Socio-cultural Structure.- 2. The Newcomers' Place in West Germany's Cultural Life.- 3. Changes in Basic Religious Patterns.- VII. The Expulsion and the Universal Norms of Law.- 1. The Legal Situation.- 2. The Concept of the Major Functions of War.- 3. (National) Self-determination.- 4. Human Rights.- 5. The Right to Homeland and Residence.- VIII. Nation-State, National Minorities and the Expulsion.- 1. The Expulsion, a Factor in the Crisis of the Nation-State ?.- 2. The Expellees and the Problem of National (Ethnic) Minorities.- IX. Solution ?.- 1. Stand of the Beneficiaries of the Potsdam Accord.- 2. Stand of the Western Two.- 3. The Uncommitted States.- 4. German Approaches to a Solution.- 5. Repatriation without Changes in Sovereignties.- 6. Is the Oder-Neisse Territory Now a Ghostland ?.- 7. Who Will Return ?.- X. Conclusions.- 1. The Indispensable Background.- 2. No Single Debit or Credit Sheet.- 3. Summary.- Charter of the German Expellees.- Selective Bibliography.- Maps and Tables.