Verlorene Heimat

The fate of German expellees from Central and Eastern Europe after 1945

Around 14 million Germans were expelled from the former eastern territories of the Reich during World War II and the Nazi terror regime. Some evacuations were orderly from the beginning of 1945, while others involved hasty flights in the face of the advancing Red Army. Those who survived often dared to start anew under difficult conditions. In the western part of their country, Germans from the eastern territories remained marginalized for a long time. However, they actively contributed to the reconstruction and economic miracle. While their integration into the Federal Republic of Germany became a success story, the fate of the expellees in the German Democratic Republic remained a taboo. Nearly a million packed their bags again and fled once more before the construction of the Berlin Wall. Common to the expellees in both German states were the unresolved traumas resulting from their flight. Authors and historians from SPIEGEL illustrate in this book how these traumas continue to resonate today and shape the attitudes of many East and West Germans towards migrants from Syria or Africa.

With eyewitness accounts and numerous illustrations.