Figure 1.-- Here is the photograph of my secondary school class from 1951. The period immediatly after the War was very difficult. Many schools were destroyed or damaged. There was no coal to heat the classroom. By the time this photograph was taken, Germany was just beginning to return to noml. We were 16+ years old. (I am sitting in the last but one row very to the right, the third one with the Norwegian pullover.) We were 30+ pupils - not all are seen in the photo -. The legend says that 12 are "newcomers" later than 1946. The parents of them, not all were real refugees, i.e., Volksdeutsche. Note that the region around Stuttgart was economically in a much better state than many other regions in Germany after World War II.

The expulsion of the Volksdeutsche brought a large number of impoverished and often bitter people into Germany, primarily West German, the occupation zones of the Westrn Allies. This had an impact on German politics as they wre automtically granted German citizenship and voting rights. A German reader writes about the political impact on Germany of this massive population transfer. "This is a very complicated topic. I do not much really know much about what occurred before and during World War II. I was born in 1935 and grew up in Stuttgart in the South-West of Germany. You will understand this remark later. Certainly, the Volksdeutsche in general were (and are) located in the political orientation more than others on the right wing of the population. I think one can only understand this considering that a Communist state, the Soviet Union, existed and was one of the enemies and finally one of the victors of World War II. The military people back to 1918 had not forgotten the loss of World War I and some provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. Before World War I Germany (at this time dominated by Prussian thinking) was oriented toward the East. Volksdeutsche settled in Poland, in Czechoslovakia (Sudetenland), in the Baltics, even in (parts of) Russia. And there was the Austrian-Habsburgian branch of German in South-East Europe, Hungaria, the Ukraine (Donauschwaben), even in Southern Russia (Wolgadeutsche). At the end of World War II (1945), in most of these regions the German-speaking part of the populations were forced to leave their homes, the flight and escape to the West, to all parts of present Germany, many (most) to the Northern states in Germany (remember my remark above. In a second reply I will send you a photo of my class mates from 1951 with remarks where they came from - with additional remarks. Many (most) to the Northern part of Germany, the province of Schleswig-Holstein, Niedersachsen (only few of the refugees settled in the Soviet occupation zone - the later DDR/ GDR. There were successful political parties in these countries. Wikipedia pages of them I will mention below. These parties were rather right-wing oriented. Of course they had also followers in the West and South, but with much less influence by voters and thus in government. Some of these parties had members even in the government and federal parliament of the BRD/FRG in Bonn; you will read it, they are listed in the Wikipedia pages. Only by about 1960 or even later these parties declined in popular appel (2 to 5 percent) in federal and lower votes. Politicians of these parties (if still living) changed membership to the CDU (it is a strong objection of the left-wing population, parties and some foreign countries that this happened)."

Complicated Topic

This is a very complicated topic. I do not much really know much about what occurred before and during World ar II. I see that CIH is in the process of addressing this aspect of the topic.

Eastern Orientation

The military people back to 1918 had not forgotten the loss of World War I and some provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. Before World War I Germany (at this time dominated by Prussian thinking) was oriented toward the East. Volksdeutsche settled in Poland, in Czechoslovakia (Sudetenland), in the Baltics, even in (parts of) Russia. And there was the Austrian-Habsburgian branch of German in South-East Europe, Hungaria, the Ukraine (Donauschwaben), even in Southern Russia (Wolgadeutsche).

My War Experiences

I was born in 1935 and grew up in Stuttgart in the South-West of Germany. You will understand this remark later. As a result, I was very young during the NAZI and World War II era. Somehow my mother took care of me during this difficult time. Only after the War was I old enough to begin to understand the momntous events swirling around me.

Right-wing Orientation

Certainly, the Volksdeutsche in general were (and are) located in the political orientation more than others on the right wing of the population. I think one can only understand this considering that a Communist state, the Soviet Union, existed and was one of the enemies and finally one of the victors of World War II.

Expullsion of the Germans (1945-46)

The fate of the Volksdeutche is one of the many depressing stories of World War II. The irony is that while NAZIs who set out to ethnically clense newly acquired areas of the Reich, it was the Germans that were ethnically clensed from Eastern Europe. Those Germans expelled are today referred to in Germany as " Vertriebenen " (expelled ones). Nearly all lived in countries invaded and occupied by NAZI Germany. Many but not all participated in NAZI genocidal or explotive programs to colonize the occupied East. As a result, both the Russian Army and partisans targetted them as the Wehrmacht was forced to retreat. Many wisely fled with the Wehrmacht. Others were reluctant to leave the farms and towns where their families had lived for generations. After the Wehrmacht withdrew and after the end of the War, millions of these ethnic Germans were murdered, deported or otherwise ethnically cleansed. Many first hand accounts describe the violence directed at those of German ancestry. A great deal of documentation was gathered by the German Wehrmacht War Crimes Bureau. (Yes, the Wehrmacht was collecting evidence of war crimes.) There are many incidents of unimagined savegery. There were women crucified in Nemmersdorf and the wholesale murder of children. [De Zayas and Barber]

Resettlement in Western Germany

At the end of World war II (1945), in most of these regions the German-speaking part of the populations were forced to leave their homes, the flight and escape to the West, to all parts of present Germany, many (most) to the Northern states in Germany (remember my remark above. In a second reply I will send you a photo of my class mates from 1951 with remarks where they came from - with additional remarks. Many (most) to the Northern part of Germany, the province of Schleswig-Holstein, Niedersachsen (only few of the refugees settled in the Soviet occupation zone - the later DDR/ GDR.

Political Impact

There were successful political parties in these countries. Wikipedia pages of them I will mention below. These parties were rather right-wing oriented. Of course they had also followers in the West and South, but with much less influence by voters and thus in government. Some of these parties had members even in the government and federal parliament of the BRD/FRG in Bonn; you will read it, they are listed in the Wikipedia pages. Only by about 1960 or even later these parties declined in popular appel (2 to 5 percent) in federal and lower votes. Politicians of these parties (if still living) changed membership to the CDU (it is a strong objection of the left-wing population, parties and some foreign countries that this happened).

My Secondry School Class (1951)

Here is the photograph of my secondary school class from 1951 (figure 1). The period immediatly after the War was very difficult. Many schools were destroyed or damaged. There was no coal to heat the classroom. By the time this photograph was taken, Germany was just beginning to return to noml. We were 16+ years old. (I am sitting in the last but one row very to the right, the third one with the Norwegian pullover.) We were 30+ pupils - not all are seen in the photo -. The legend says that 12 are "newcomers" later than 1946. The parents of them, not all were real refugees, i.e., Volksdeutsche. Note that the region around Stuttgart was economically in a much better state than many other regions in Germany after World War II. I will explain the numbers which tell where the class mates came from: 1 from Lüneburg in Niedersachsen, probably a refugee family. 2 from Berlin, again probably a refugee family. 3 from Maulbronn (it was the French occupation zone, probably not a refugee family). 4 from Berlin, as above (2). 5 from Hildesheim in Niedersachsen, probably a refugee family. 6 from Ravensburg in the southern part of Suebia, French occupation zone. 7 from Korbach near Saarbrücken, Saarland, at this time part of France. 8 and 9 from Breslau, certainly refugee families. [Breslay was one of Hitler's Fortress Cities and a scene of bitter fighting at the end of th War. It is now Wrocław in Poland.] The remaining three probably were coming from places near to Stuttgart, coming home from the KLV evacuations, childrens sent to country areas during the war, but from Stuttgart famiies. As I know my class mates I think that 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, and 9 may have been originally grown up in families more oriented to the right-wing (well, I may be wrong). Now, 70 years after end of WW2, I think that all is history. Everywhere around we see a lot of refugees. To-day, many refugees have economic reasons for leaving their home, and "religious" reasons (is religion very different from politics/following wars?). Ask them for their political orientation, you will get different answers not really to be located on a right/left spectrum.

Political Parties Supported by Expelled Ethnic Germams

Here are the URLs of two of the parties which I referenced above, there were others the name of them i don't know or remember. Still there is the NPD, an extreme right wing party (presently the High Court in Karlsruhe has to decide whether the party should be forbidden). Some followers of people with a political orientation like of the Volksdeutsche you may found there): All-German Bloc, Gesamtdeutscher Block, Deutsche Partei (DP), and /Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands (NPD). "

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Created: 4:46 AM 3/3/2015
Last updated: 4:46 AM 3/3/2015