Orderly and Humane: The Expulsion of the Germans after the Second World War

560 Pages·2012·4.17 MB·English

by  R. M. Douglas

ORDERLY AND HUMANE
ORDERLY AND HUMANE
The Expulsion of the Germans after the Second World War
R. M. Douglas
Published with assistance from the Louis Stern Memorial Fund.
Copyright © 2012 by. R. M. Douglas.
All rights reserved.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Douglas, R. M., 1963–
Orderly and humane : the expulsion of the Germans after
the Second World War / R. M. Douglas.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-300-16660-6 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Population transfers—
Germans—History—20th century. 2. Forced migration—Czech Republic—
History—20th century. 3. Germans—Czech Republic—Sudentenland—
History—20th century. 4. Czechoslovakia—Politics and government—1945–
1992.
5. Czechoslovakia—Ethnic relations—History—20th century. 6. World War,
1939–1945—Forced repatriation. I. Title.
D820.P72G426 2012
940.53’14508931—dc23
2011045449
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of
Paper).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my beloved wife, Elizabeth
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
ONE The Planner
TWO The Volksdeutsche in Wartime
THREE The Scheme
FOUR The “Wild Expulsions”
FIVE The Camps
SIX The “Organized Expulsions”
SEVEN The Numbers Game
EIGHT The Children
NINE The Wild West
TEN The International Reaction
ELEVEN The Resettlement
TWELVE The Law
THIRTEEN Meaning and Memory
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Considerations of space preclude me from acknowledging more than a
handful of the many people who assisted me in the course of a research project
that consumed more years than I would have dared to contemplate when
commencing it. That this book exists at all is due to three people without whom
it certainly would never have seen the light of day. Jane Pinchin, Colgate
University’s president, was the person whose justifiable impatience with my
endlessly reiterated complaints that a work of this kind did not exist led her to
insist that I cease grousing and do something about it myself. And the assurance
of Sam Stoloff, my magnificent agent at Frances Goldin Literary Agency, that it
would find its way into print at a time when I despaired of its ever attracting the
attention of anyone other than my family and increasingly put-upon circle of
friends—a promise on which he then proceeded in the face of considerable
obstacles to make good—boosted my morale at a time when it was running at a
low ebb. Above all my wife Elizabeth, my partner in this academic enterprise
and much more than that in life, knows how much the appearance of this book
owes to her. Its dedication to her is an inadequate form of recompense.
I should also like to express my thanks to some of those who went far out of
their way to assist me without thought of reciprocation. I received especially
invaluable assistance from Martina Ĉermáková and Michaela (Misha) Raisová
of Charles University in Prague, and from Karolina Papros of the University of
Warsaw. The incomparable Fabrizio Bensi and Daniele Palmieri of the Archives
du Comité International de la Croix Rouge in Geneva were unfailingly helpful,
as was Fania Khan Mohammad of the CICR Library. Mrs. Vlasta Měšťánkova
of the National Archives of the Czech Republic provided me with the same
unstinting and expert assistance as she does to all who work in this field; and
Colonel Josef Žikeš and his staff at the Military Central Archives in Prague
exerted themselves mightily in tracking down relevant material. So too did Amy
K. Schmidt, the Volksdeutsche specialist at the National Archives and Records
Administration in the United States, as well as Paola Casini and Romain
Ledauphin of the United Nations Archives, New York City. My former Colgate
colleagues Dr. Jim Bjork (now of King’s College, London) and Prof. Jonathan
Wiesen (Southern Illinois University) read parts of the manuscript in draft, as
did Prof. Timothy Waters of the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University;
Dr. Kevin White of the University of Portsmouth; Prof. Rob Nemes of Colgate;
and Mic Moroney of Dublin. I am deeply grateful to all of them for their
expertise, advice, and guidance. I would also like to mention my particular
appreciation of the contribution made by Gavin Lewis, whose detailed
knowledge and keen editorial skills rescued me from an embarrassing number of
mistakes and greatly improved the final product. Lastly, the Colgate University
Research Council, through whom I obtained a Mellon Sabbatical Improvement
Grant in 2007, ensured that the financial resources necessary to the completion
of the book would be forthcoming. I stand indebted to them all, as well as to
many others not mentioned here.
Abbreviations
AAN Central Archives of Modern Records, Warsaw
ACC Allied Control Council
ACC Allied Control Commission (Hungary)
(H)
BAK Bundesarchiv Koblenz
CAB Cabinet records (Great Britain), in PRO
CAME Committee Against Mass Expulsions (United States)
CCG Control Commission for Germany (British Element)
(BE)
CICR Comité International de la Croix Rouge et du Croissant Rouge;
Archives du CICR, Geneva
COGA Control Office for Germany and Austria
CRX Combined Repatriation Executive
FO Foreign Office records (Great Britain), in PRO
FRUS U.S. State Department, Foreign Relations of the United States series
HS Special Operations Executive records (Great Britain), in PRO
IRO International Refugee Organization
KPD Communist Party of Germany
LAB Ministry of Labour records (Great Britain), PRO
MNO Ministry of National Defense (Czechoslovakia); MNO records, in
VÚA
MZO Ministry for the Recovered Territories (Poland); MZO records, in
AAN
MV-NR Ministry of the Interior (Czechoslovakia), New Registers, in NAČR
National Archives of the Czech Republic, Prague