Flight and evacuation of German civilians during the end of World War II
Encyclopedia
Plans to evacuate German population from the occupied territories in Central and Eastern Europe
and from Eastern Germany were prepared by German authorities
at the end of World War II
. However, the evacuation in most of the areas was delayed until the last moment, when it was too late to conduct it in an orderly fashion. Most of the evacuation efforts commenced in January 1945, when Soviet forces were already rapidly advancing westward. In total about six million Germans were evacuated from the areas east of the Oder-Neisse line
before the Red Army
and the Soviet-controlled Polish People's Army took control of the region.
were prepared by various Nazi authorities towards the end of the war. Some of the guards and inmates of the Majdanek
camp were evacuated starting on April 1, 1944 (see also Death marches (Holocaust)
). In most cases, however, the implementation of the plans was either delayed until Soviet and allied forces had already advanced into the areas to be evacuated, or it was prohibited entirely by the Nazi apparatus.
Despite the rapid advances of the Red Army
, the German authorities in many areas forbade leaving one's place of residence without a permit and an officially valid reason. Millions of Germans were left in these areas until combat conditions overwhelmed them, as a direct result of both the draconian measures taken by the Nazis towards the end of the war against anyone even suspected of 'defeatist' attitudes (such as suggesting evacuation) and the fanaticism of many Nazi functionaries in their mindless support of useless 'no retreat' orders. When the German authorities finally gave people the order to leave their homes, the available means of transport (such as trains and ships) were inadequate, and this forced many to leave most of their belongings behind. The first mass movement of German civilians in the eastern territories included both spontaneous flight and organized evacuation starting in the summer of 1944 and continuing through to the spring of 1945. However most of the evacuation efforts commenced in January 1945, when Soviet forces were already at the Eastern border of Greater Germany
.
While advancing toward the West, soldiers of the Red Army
committed a variety of atrocities, most notably rape, mutilation, murder and looting. The Soviet propaganda machine (e.g. Ilya Ehrenburg
) encouraged a harsh and vengeful attitude toward the German military and this encouragement may have led to atrocities on German civilians in Germany.
Nazi propaganda
widely published the details of the Soviet atrocities, such as the Nemmersdorf massacre, in order to strengthen German morale to defend themselves. However the reverse result was achieved as thousands of ethnic Germans panicked and fled in 1945, particularly from East Prussia
to the West, attempting to seek safety within parts of Germany not yet occupied.
Not only was the flight inspired by rumors and actual Red Army atrocities, it became a self-fulfilling prophecy
in that those who were fleeing often became subject to these atrocities themselves when speedily advancing Red Army units caught up with slower refugee columns.
. They were already evacuated in 1943, partly to Greater Poland
and partly to Germany proper.
The evacuation plans for East Prussia
were ready in the second half of 1944. They consisted of both general plans and specific instructions for each individual town. The plans encompassed not only people but also industry and livestock
.
The evacuation was planned to be conducted in three waves: the first two of them in July and October 1944, when about 25% of the 2.6 million population, mostly elderly, women and children, were supposed to be evacuated to Pomerania
and Saxony
.
In fact the populace of Memel east of the Neman River
was evacuated to the western parts of East Prussia in late summer 1944. On October 7, 1944 that area was the only part of East Prussia completely evacuated. On October 16, 1944 the Red Army
reached German territory for the first time in World War II in the southern part of East Prussia near Gumbinnen, encountering German civilians and committing the Nemmersdorf massacre. After the Wehrmacht
managed to reconquer large parts of the territory the East Prussian Gauleiter
Erich Koch
partially conceded the requests of the Wehrmacht and gave permission to evacuate a small strip of 30 km directly behind the frontline. Civilians from that area were sent to the Northern parts of East Prussia.
The third wave of evacuation happened in January 1945, when the Soviet East Prussian Offensive
was already in progress. While Nazi authorities propagated the faith in the Final victory
, any self-contained flight preparation was accused as defeatism
. Most civilians left their homes just hours before the Soviets overran them, and were often directly involved in the combat. At the same time Nazi representatives, like Gauleiter Koch who had prepared two steamboats in the harbour of Pillau for his personal use, were the first to escape to the west. After the Red Army
reached the coast of the Vistula Lagoon
near Elbląg
on January 23, 1945, cutting off the overland route between East Prussia and the western territories, the only way to leave was to cross the frozen Vistula Lagoon and to try to reach the harbours of Gdańsk
or Gdynia
, to be evacuated by ships within Operation Hannibal
.
This phase of the evacuation followed two major routes: westwards, towards Gdansk
and Pomerania
, and northwards, towards Königsberg
and Pillau port.
About 450,000 Germans fled East Prussia
over the frozen Vistula Lagoon
and were then evacuated by ship from Baltic
port cities.
Out of a pre-war population of 2,490,000, about 500,000 died during the war (including military), including 311,000 civilians dying during the wartime flight and postwar expulsion of Germans. 1,200,000 managed to escape to the western parts of Germany, while about 800,000 pre-war inhabitants remained in East Prussia in summer 1945.
was also delayed. It was further complicated by the influx of the Germans evacuated from East Prussia
. At the end of February 1945, the Nazis ordered the evacuation to be suspended. This delay resulted in the land evacuation routes soon being blocked by the advancing Soviet and Polish forces. Kolberg, the main seaport within the German-held pocket, was declared a "fortress" and became the center for sea-based evacuation of both civilians and military from Farther Pomerania
. Germans who were evacuated on ships were landed either in German seaport cities west of the Oder River, or in Denmark, where internment camps were set up by the Danes after the war. In total almost 2.2 million people were evacuated this way, and about 14,000 drowned when their ship was sunk by the Allies
.
began on January 19, 1945. The first orders concerned the elderly, women and children of Upper Silesia
.
About 85% of the Lower Silesia
n population was evacuated in 1945, first across Oder River and then to Saxony
or to Bohemia
. However, many of the Silesians
ignored the evacuation orders, believing that their knowledge of Polish
and their Polish provenance would spare them the horrors feared by Germans.
February 1945 the Soviet
Red Army
approached the city of Breslau (now Wrocław). Gauleiter
Karl Hanke
declared the city a Festung (fortress) to be held at all costs. Hanke finally lifted a ban on the evacuation of women and children when it was almost too late. During his poorly organised evacuation in early March 1945, 18,000 people froze to death in icy snowstorms and -20°C weather.
Central and Eastern Europe
Central and Eastern Europe is a term describing former communist states in Europe, after the collapse of the Iron Curtain in 1989/90. In scholarly literature the abbreviations CEE or CEEC are often used for this concept...
and from Eastern Germany were prepared by German authorities
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
at 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...
. However, the evacuation in most of the areas was delayed until the last moment, when it was too late to conduct it in an orderly fashion. Most of the evacuation efforts commenced in January 1945, when Soviet forces were already rapidly advancing westward. In total about six million Germans were evacuated from the areas east of the Oder-Neisse line
Oder-Neisse line
The Oder–Neisse line is the border between Germany and Poland which was drawn in the aftermath of World War II. The line is formed primarily by the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers, and meets the Baltic Sea west of the seaport cities of Szczecin and Świnoujście...
before the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
and the Soviet-controlled Polish People's Army took control of the region.
German evacuation policies
The plans to evacuate some German populations westwards from Eastern Europe and from some cities in the Eastern Gaue of Greater GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
were prepared by various Nazi authorities towards the end of the war. Some of the guards and inmates of the Majdanek
Majdanek
Majdanek was a German Nazi concentration camp on the outskirts of Lublin, Poland, established during the German Nazi occupation of Poland. The camp operated from October 1, 1941 until July 22, 1944, when it was captured nearly intact by the advancing Soviet Red Army...
camp were evacuated starting on April 1, 1944 (see also Death marches (Holocaust)
Death marches (Holocaust)
The death marches refer to the forcible movement between Autumn 1944 and late April 1945 by Nazi Germany of thousands of prisoners from German concentration camps near the war front to camps inside Germany.-General:...
). In most cases, however, the implementation of the plans was either delayed until Soviet and allied forces had already advanced into the areas to be evacuated, or it was prohibited entirely by the Nazi apparatus.
Despite the rapid advances of the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
, the German authorities in many areas forbade leaving one's place of residence without a permit and an officially valid reason. Millions of Germans were left in these areas until combat conditions overwhelmed them, as a direct result of both the draconian measures taken by the Nazis towards the end of the war against anyone even suspected of 'defeatist' attitudes (such as suggesting evacuation) and the fanaticism of many Nazi functionaries in their mindless support of useless 'no retreat' orders. When the German authorities finally gave people the order to leave their homes, the available means of transport (such as trains and ships) were inadequate, and this forced many to leave most of their belongings behind. The first mass movement of German civilians in the eastern territories included both spontaneous flight and organized evacuation starting in the summer of 1944 and continuing through to the spring of 1945. However most of the evacuation efforts commenced in January 1945, when Soviet forces were already at the Eastern border of Greater Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
Red army atrocities and Nazi propaganda
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
committed a variety of atrocities, most notably rape, mutilation, murder and looting. The Soviet propaganda machine (e.g. Ilya Ehrenburg
Ilya Ehrenburg
Ilya Grigoryevich Ehrenburg was a Soviet writer, journalist, translator, and cultural figure.Ehrenburg is among the most prolific and notable authors of the Soviet Union; he published around one hundred titles. He became known first and foremost as a novelist and a journalist - in particular, as a...
) encouraged a harsh and vengeful attitude toward the German military and this encouragement may have led to atrocities on German civilians in Germany.
Nazi propaganda
Nazi propaganda
Propaganda, the coordinated attempt to influence public opinion through the use of media, was skillfully used by the NSDAP in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's leadership of Germany...
widely published the details of the Soviet atrocities, such as the Nemmersdorf massacre, in order to strengthen German morale to defend themselves. However the reverse result was achieved as thousands of ethnic Germans panicked and fled in 1945, particularly from East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
to the West, attempting to seek safety within parts of Germany not yet occupied.
Not only was the flight inspired by rumors and actual Red Army atrocities, it became a self-fulfilling prophecy
Self-fulfilling prophecy
A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior. Although examples of such prophecies can be found in literature as far back as ancient Greece and...
in that those who were fleeing often became subject to these atrocities themselves when speedily advancing Red Army units caught up with slower refugee columns.
Russia
The first to evacuate were the Black Sea GermansBlack Sea Germans
The Black Sea Germans are ethnic Germans who left their homeland in the 18th and 19th centuries, and settled in territories off the north coast of the Black Sea, mostly in southern Ukraine...
. They were already evacuated in 1943, partly to Greater Poland
Greater Poland
Greater Poland or Great Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief city is Poznań.The boundaries of Greater Poland have varied somewhat throughout history...
and partly to Germany proper.
Ukraine
The city of Berdychiv was evacuated of Reich Germans, German [Volksdeutschen], agencies of the civil government, the government of the country, and the able-bodied population in December 1943.East Prussia
The evacuation plans for East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
were ready in the second half of 1944. They consisted of both general plans and specific instructions for each individual town. The plans encompassed not only people but also industry and livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
.
The evacuation was planned to be conducted in three waves: the first two of them in July and October 1944, when about 25% of the 2.6 million population, mostly elderly, women and children, were supposed to be evacuated to Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
and Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
.
In fact the populace of Memel east of the Neman River
Neman River
Neman or Niemen or Nemunas, is a major Eastern European river rising in Belarus and flowing through Lithuania before draining into the Curonian Lagoon and then into the Baltic Sea at Klaipėda. It is the northern border between Lithuania and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast in its lower reaches...
was evacuated to the western parts of East Prussia in late summer 1944. On October 7, 1944 that area was the only part of East Prussia completely evacuated. On October 16, 1944 the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
reached German territory for the first time in World War II in the southern part of East Prussia near Gumbinnen, encountering German civilians and committing the Nemmersdorf massacre. After the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
managed to reconquer large parts of the territory the East Prussian Gauleiter
Gauleiter
A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...
Erich Koch
Erich Koch
Erich Koch was a Gauleiter of the Nazi Party in East Prussia from 1928 until 1945. Between 1941 and 1945 he was the Chief of Civil Administration of Bezirk Bialystok. During this period, he was also the Reichskommissar in Reichskommissariat Ukraine from 1941 until 1943...
partially conceded the requests of the Wehrmacht and gave permission to evacuate a small strip of 30 km directly behind the frontline. Civilians from that area were sent to the Northern parts of East Prussia.
The third wave of evacuation happened in January 1945, when the Soviet East Prussian Offensive
East Prussian Offensive
The East Prussian Offensive was a strategic offensive by the Red Army against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front . It lasted from 13 January to 25 April 1945, though some German units did not surrender until 9 May...
was already in progress. While Nazi authorities propagated the faith in the Final victory
Endsieg
Endsieg is German for "final victory". It is used in the meaning that a victory is taken for granted even though all odds are against it.- Origin and historical usage :The word became commonly used in World War I...
, any self-contained flight preparation was accused as defeatism
Defeatism
Defeatism is acceptance of defeat without struggle. In everyday use, defeatism has negative connotation and is often linked to treason and pessimism, or even a hopeless situation such as a Catch-22...
. Most civilians left their homes just hours before the Soviets overran them, and were often directly involved in the combat. At the same time Nazi representatives, like Gauleiter Koch who had prepared two steamboats in the harbour of Pillau for his personal use, were the first to escape to the west. After the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
reached the coast of the Vistula Lagoon
Vistula Lagoon
The Vistula Lagoon is a fresh water lagoon on the Baltic Sea separated from Gdańsk Bay by the Vistula Spit. It is sometimes known as the Vistula Bay or Vistula Gulf. The modern German name, Frisches Haff, is derived from an earlier form, Friesisches Haff. Both this term and the earlier Polish...
near Elbląg
Elblag
Elbląg is a city in northern Poland with 127,892 inhabitants . It is the capital of Elbląg County and has been assigned to the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. Before then it was the capital of Elbląg Voivodeship and a county seat in Gdańsk Voivodeship...
on January 23, 1945, cutting off the overland route between East Prussia and the western territories, the only way to leave was to cross the frozen Vistula Lagoon and to try to reach the harbours of Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
or Gdynia
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
, to be evacuated by ships within Operation Hannibal
Operation Hannibal
Operation Hannibal was a German military operation involving the evacuation by sea of German troops and civilians from Courland, East Prussia, and the Polish Corridor from mid-January to May, 1945 as the Red Army advanced during the East Prussian and East Pomeranian Offensives and subsidiary...
.
This phase of the evacuation followed two major routes: westwards, towards Gdansk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
and Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
, and northwards, towards Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
and Pillau port.
About 450,000 Germans fled East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
over the frozen Vistula Lagoon
Vistula Lagoon
The Vistula Lagoon is a fresh water lagoon on the Baltic Sea separated from Gdańsk Bay by the Vistula Spit. It is sometimes known as the Vistula Bay or Vistula Gulf. The modern German name, Frisches Haff, is derived from an earlier form, Friesisches Haff. Both this term and the earlier Polish...
and were then evacuated by ship from Baltic
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
port cities.
Out of a pre-war population of 2,490,000, about 500,000 died during the war (including military), including 311,000 civilians dying during the wartime flight and postwar expulsion of Germans. 1,200,000 managed to escape to the western parts of Germany, while about 800,000 pre-war inhabitants remained in East Prussia in summer 1945.
Pomerania
The evacuation of PomeraniaPomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
was also delayed. It was further complicated by the influx of the Germans evacuated from East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
. At the end of February 1945, the Nazis ordered the evacuation to be suspended. This delay resulted in the land evacuation routes soon being blocked by the advancing Soviet and Polish forces. Kolberg, the main seaport within the German-held pocket, was declared a "fortress" and became the center for sea-based evacuation of both civilians and military from Farther Pomerania
Farther Pomerania
Farther Pomerania, Further Pomerania, Transpomerania or Eastern Pomerania , which before the German-Polish border shift of 1945 comprised the eastern part of the Duchy, later Province of Pomerania, roughly stretching from the Oder River in the West to Pomerelia in the East...
. Germans who were evacuated on ships were landed either in German seaport cities west of the Oder River, or in Denmark, where internment camps were set up by the Danes after the war. In total almost 2.2 million people were evacuated this way, and about 14,000 drowned when their ship was sunk by the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
.
Silesia
The evacuation of the 4.7 million population of SilesiaSilesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
began on January 19, 1945. The first orders concerned the elderly, women and children of Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
.
About 85% of the Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia ; is the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Upper Silesia is to the southeast.Throughout its history Lower Silesia has been under the control of the medieval Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy from 1526...
n population was evacuated in 1945, first across Oder River and then to Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
or to Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
. However, many of the Silesians
Silesians
Silesians , are the inhabitants of Silesia in Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic. A small diaspora community also exists in Karnes County, Texas in the USA....
ignored the evacuation orders, believing that their knowledge of Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
and their Polish provenance would spare them the horrors feared by Germans.
February 1945 the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
approached the city of Breslau (now Wrocław). Gauleiter
Gauleiter
A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...
Karl Hanke
Karl Hanke
Karl August Hanke was an official of the National Socialist German Workers Party . He served as governor of Lower Silesia from 1941 to 1945 and as the final Reichsführer-SS for a few days in 1945.- Early life :Hanke was born in Lauban in Silesia, on 24 August 1903, the son of a locomotive...
declared the city a Festung (fortress) to be held at all costs. Hanke finally lifted a ban on the evacuation of women and children when it was almost too late. During his poorly organised evacuation in early March 1945, 18,000 people froze to death in icy snowstorms and -20°C weather.
See also
- Expulsion of Germans after World War IIExpulsion of Germans after World War IIThe 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...
- German exodus from Eastern Europe
- Nemmersdorf massacre
- Nazi-Soviet population transfersNazi-Soviet population transfersThe Nazi–Soviet population transfers were a series of population transfers between 1939 and 1941 of tens of thousands of ethnic Germans and ethnic Russians in an agreement according to the German–Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Demarcation between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.-...
- HegewaldHegewald (colony)Hegewald was a short-lived German colony in Reichskommissariat Ukraine near Zhitomir during World War II. Its purpose was to hold Poles and Ukrainian settlers who had been classified as Volksdeutsche for Germanization...