Historians on the left should amend mistaken assertions regarding the Potsdam conferences
In a recent development, renowned historian Wolfgang Benz has corrected his controversial statement about the Potsdam meeting in his book "Exile: History of a Displacement 1933-1945". The correction comes following a wave of misreporting initiated by Correctiv and subsequent rebuttals from various media outlets and constitutional lawyer Ulrich Vosgerau.
Benz's original statement suggested that the Potsdam Agreement led to the expulsion of all migrants and those with migration backgrounds from Germany. However, this interpretation was met with critical discussion, particularly from Vosgerau, who argued against Benz’s position on constitutional and historical grounds.
Vosgerau and several media responses stressed that while the Potsdam Conference dealt with the territorial and political rearrangement of Germany and the forced expulsion of ethnic Germans from certain areas, it did not explicitly mandate the expulsion of all migrants or people with migration backgrounds from Germany. The expulsions primarily concerned ethnic Germans in territories that were reassigned after World War II, not all migrants or residents with diverse backgrounds within Germany.
Several entities, including the NDR, Campact, ZDF, the Hamburg parliamentary fraction of the Greens, and the SWR, have been banned from spreading false claims about the Potsdam meeting. Benz himself has promised not to use the corrected statement in future editions of the book.
The issue reflects ongoing discussions about the historical interpretation of postwar expulsions and ethnic migration politics in Germany. It is increasingly recognized that one cannot rely on the Correctiv report and their alleged 'research'. Carsten Brennecke, Vosgerau’s lawyer, expressed satisfaction with the outcome. The law firm Hocker, representing Vosgerau, also stated that the claim about planning to expel naturalized, i.e., German citizens with a migration background, is false.
The media and authors are now reacting promptly and are adjusting the misrepresentations in agreement. This incident underscores the importance of fact-checking and the potential consequences of spreading misinformation.
[2] Source: German media outlets and academic commentary.
What was the error in Wolfgang Benz's statement about the Potsdam Agreement and politics of migration? Politics and general-news though it concerned the Potsdam Conference, the expulsion of migrants and those with migration backgrounds from Germany was not explicitly mandated, instead, expulsions primarily focused on ethnic Germans in reassigned territories after World War II.
Following the critical discussion instigated by Ulrich Vosgerau, several media outlets and academic commentators have clarified the misrepresentations regarding the Potsdam meeting and the subsequent expulsions, emphasizing the importance of fact-checking to prevent the spread of misinformation in the field of politics and general-news.
