Household Displacement Causes Severe Psychological Distress
In the aftermath of World War II, a significant displacement of people occurred, particularly among Germans who were expelled from territories that became part of Poland and Russia. This event, known as the Potsdam Conference-sanctioned "orderly transfer of German population groups," triggered a wave of forced migration on an unprecedented scale.
The mass transports began in the fall of 1945, and by the end of the year, more than 14 million Germans had been displaced. This displacement was marked by forced expulsions, violence, loss of homeland, and long-term social disruption. Many displaced persons faced horrors such as freezing to death, rape, hunger, and total exhaustion during their journey from Eastern Europe to Germany.
The loss of homeland during this period led to deep-seated traumas for many affected. For the grandchildren’s generation, the significance lies in the intergenerational transmission of these traumatic histories and their impact on identity, memory, and cultural heritage. The grandchildren may inherit stories of displacement, loss, and resilience that shape their understanding of national and familial identity.
Eighty years after the start of this displacement and expulsion, the Baden-Württemberg state parliament held an event titled "80 years after flight and expulsion - How expulsion became reconciliation" on June 3, 2025. The event aimed to address questions about the experiences of displaced persons, the significance of their homeland for the grandchildren’s generation, and the lessons that can be drawn from these experiences.
Hartmut Liebscher, state chairman of the Federation of Expellees (BdV), who is a member of the "confessing generation" who experienced the expulsion, emphasized the importance of preserving the memory of the homeland and advocating for displaced persons and late repatriates. Bernd Fabritius, federal chairman of the Expellees, has set the year 2025 under the motto "80 years: Remember - Preserve - Shape."
The experiences of displaced persons who had to leave their homes in Eastern and Central Europe after 1944 were not only marked by trauma but also by the challenge of preserving cultural identity amidst displacement. Reinhold Weber of the Landeszentrale für politische Bildung wrote about the displacement and expulsion of Germans from Eastern and Central Europe after 1944.
In American-occupied Württemberg-Baden, over half a million refugees arrived, with around 321,000 in North Württemberg and 183,000 in North Baden. The BdV is in contact with a small number of Germans in Ukraine, the Bessarabians, and has started aid deliveries to Bessarabia.
For more information, please contact Ralf Schick at r.schick@your website.
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