Germans After The War. Ethnically Cleansed From Other Countries

Thought I'd share this with fellow forum dwellers. Its well worth a watch but very distressing.

To be honest I never had a clue what happened to Germans after the war. I'm talking about those who lived in other European countries for generations. People who had been settled there and were part of the country they lived in.

Many tens of thousands suffered the same fate as Jews. They were imprisoned in camps, raped, starved and murdered. Men women and children.

After this when the authorities gained more control the Germans were cleansed from these countries. They lost everything, property belongings and relatives.

Children were living wild in woods "Wolf Children" they were called.

I'm a big hard man, but I have to admit it made me cry...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05x30lb/1945-the-savage-peace

History is written by the winners so is it any surprise most people dont know about this? No its better to hear about the Berlin air lift than the real truth about many German peoples fate after WW2

A colleague married a german girl who was born in East Prussia during WW2

When the war ended her parents walked to Germany carrying the child and abandoning everything.

You could say that they got what they deserved and was no worse than many non Germans were treated.

But still...............

A colleague married a german girl who was born in East Prussia during WW2

When the war ended her parents walked to Germany carrying the child and abandoning everything.

You could say that they got what they deserved and was no worse than many non Germans were treated.

But still...............

The film is not really about the armed forces. Its about Germans who happened to be settled in another country when the war broke out. Its about civilians.

The film is not really about the armed forces. Its about Germans who happened to be settled in another country when the war broke out. Its about civilians.

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My post wasn't about armed forces and it was about civilians.

East Prussia was part of Germany that was cleansed of Germans when it was incorporated into Poland after WW2

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My post wasn't about armed forces and it was about civilians.

East Prussia was part of Germany that was cleansed of Germans when it was incorporated into Poland after WW2

Sorry if I misunderstood, I was referring to this.. You could say that they got what they deserved .

They didn't deserve anything they had nothing to do with the Nazis and were just unfortunate to live in another country and be German at the end of the war..

Watched the programme and had to turn over after 20 minutes,its awful what happened and the killers should not have got away with it.

I saw the video, but I could only make half way through due to the nature of the scenes shown.

If my memory serves me right, there was two parts to what happened to eastern Germany. First was the rape and pillage of eastern Germany right up to Berlin as the Russians continued their conquest eastwards.

Secondly there was the decision to move the German Eastern Boarder with Poland a few hundred miles westward, effectively taking away the main body of Prussia. The local population was then forced to vacate these lands.

This shows the power of propaganda where both the Nazis and the Soviets demonised and dehumanised their opponents. It was under these conditions that "normal humans" could allow, take part or even encourage such barbaric acts.

Watched the programme and had to turn over after 20 minutes,its awful what happened and the killers should not have got away with it.

I saw the video, but I could only make half way through due to the nature of the scenes shown.

 

If my memory serves me right, there was two parts to what happened to eastern Germany. First was the rape and pillage of eastern Germany right up to Berlin as the Russians continued their conquest eastwards.

 

Secondly there was the decision to move the German Eastern Boarder with Poland a few hundred miles westward, effectively taking away the main body of Prussia. The local population was then forced to vacate these lands.

 

This shows the power of propaganda where both the Nazis and the Soviets demonised and dehumanised their opponents. It was under these conditions that "normal humans" could allow, take part or even encourage such barbaric acts.

I agree. It was very hard to watch. It made me think that most nations are capable of such horrendous crimes.. I always find elderly people crying very hard to take.. I must admit I was very moved by their stories. Especially those who were children at the time.

I was completely ignorant of these events..

I agree. It was very hard to watch. It made me think that most nations are capable of such horrendous crimes.. I always find elderly people crying very hard to take.. I must admit I was very moved by their stories. Especially those who were children at the time.

 

I was completely ignorant of these events..

The war on the eastern front between the Soviets and the Germans was extremely brutal, it was literally hell on earth for tens of millions of people. The suffering dwarfs what the western powers went through in WW2.

I think it said in the documentary that 25% of current Germans are the people or their descendants who were ethnically cleansed from Eastern Europe..

After WW2 one of the Soviets main aims was to secure their western border against another possible invasion from Germany so they insisted on moving Poland a couple of hundred of miles to the west to create a larger buffer zone.

This meant that Germany lost a huge amount of land, on top of losing the East Prussia enclave.

You have to remember the suffering that Germany had given to Russia during the course of the two world wars and as victors they were determined not to allow it ever to happen again, hence the territorial change.

I am also sure that there was also an aim to crush the Prussian military culture that was prevalent in Germany prior to them losing WW2.