Federal Expellee Law
Encyclopedia
The Federal Expellee Law (Bundesvertriebenengesetz, BVFG) is a German federal law of May 19, 1953 which regulates the rights of German refugees from Central and Eastern Europe
and defines - in § 6 - who is considered expellees and therefore entitled to get German citizenship, if they wish so. The persons entitled to become Germans also include (former) foreign citizens of states of the Eastern Bloc
, who themselves - or whose ancestors - were persecuted or discriminated between 1945 and 1990 for their German ethnicity by their respective governments. The argument goes that the Federal Republic of Germany had/has to administer to the needs of these foreigners, because their respective governments in charge of guaranteeing their equal treatment as citizens, severely neglected or contravened that obligation. The major force behind the law was the All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights
party, which had among its voters - besides German citizens, who had fled or were expelled from formerly German territory annexed by Poland and the Soviet Union - many formerly foreign citizens, who exactly experienced by the end of World War II
and the post-war years of 'ethnic cleansing
', denaturalisation, robbing and humiliation (1945 until 1948) prevailingly carried out by the governments of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia. While the expelled destitute Czechoslovaks, Hungarians, Poles, Romanians and Yugoslavs of (alleged) German ethnicity, who happened to live in the western occupation zones by the time the Federal Republic of Germany was founded in 1949, were granted German citizenship by the Basic Law
(federal constitution), Art. 116, those who only later managed to escape the persecuting states, were entitled to get citizenship by this law.
Expulsion of Germans after World War II
The later stages of World War II, and the period after the end of that war, saw the forced migration of millions of German nationals and ethnic Germans from various European states and territories, mostly into the areas which would become post-war Germany and post-war Austria...
and defines - in § 6 - who is considered expellees and therefore entitled to get German citizenship, if they wish so. The persons entitled to become Germans also include (former) foreign citizens of states of the Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
, who themselves - or whose ancestors - were persecuted or discriminated between 1945 and 1990 for their German ethnicity by their respective governments. The argument goes that the Federal Republic of Germany had/has to administer to the needs of these foreigners, because their respective governments in charge of guaranteeing their equal treatment as citizens, severely neglected or contravened that obligation. The major force behind the law was the All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights
All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights
The All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights was a right-wing political party in West Germany, which acted as an advocacy group of the Germans fled and expelled in and after World War II.-History:...
party, which had among its voters - besides German citizens, who had fled or were expelled from formerly German territory annexed by Poland and the Soviet Union - many formerly foreign citizens, who exactly experienced by the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the post-war years of 'ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
', denaturalisation, robbing and humiliation (1945 until 1948) prevailingly carried out by the governments of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia. While the expelled destitute Czechoslovaks, Hungarians, Poles, Romanians and Yugoslavs of (alleged) German ethnicity, who happened to live in the western occupation zones by the time the Federal Republic of Germany was founded in 1949, were granted German citizenship by the Basic Law
Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is the constitution of Germany. It was formally approved on 8 May 1949, and, with the signature of the Allies of World War II on 12 May, came into effect on 23 May, as the constitution of those states of West Germany that were initially included...
(federal constitution), Art. 116, those who only later managed to escape the persecuting states, were entitled to get citizenship by this law.