Migration and political consequences of the transfer of the lands of Pomerania, Brandenburg, Silesia and Prussia to the PRL

Abstract

This article examines the demographic consequences of the annexation of the lands of Pomerania, Brandenburg, Silesia and Prussia to the Polish People's Republic following the Second World War. The end of the Second World War led to the revision of the borders of the states of eastern and Central Europe, which was dictated by the creation of a new security system. The revision of the borders for the Germans was marked not only by serious territorial losses, but also by the relocation of the German population from the lost lands. The process of voluntary and forced migration has not been smooth. Forced migration periodically had excesses, and the zones of occupation receiving migrants were not ready for a sharp increase in the population. The resettlement process was not coordinated and worked out, and therefore many migrants periodically built up in temporary detention camps for a long time. Part of the German population was involved in forced labor for years to compensate for the damage. Sociocultural contradictions developed in the territories of final migration. Despite the national identity, the German population throughout the Third Reich had its own socio-cultural characteristics due to the long period of living in a mono-ethnic society and interaction with the Slavs, Hungarians, and Romanians. The indigenous population of the western lands of Germany developed a biased attitude towards the internally displaced persons from the east due to their unique traditions. The article presents statistical data on the number of Germans who were forced to migrate.