GERMAN CIVILIAN DEATH TOLL
IN WORLD WAR II
Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of West Germany, pointed out that 13 millions Germans were forced to flee from their homes after 1945 since huge portions of German territory were given to Poland by Churchill and Roosevelt to compensate Poland for their agreement to the Soviet seizure of eastern Poland in the context of Stalin's 1939 agreement with Hitler. This was a total violation of the Atlantic Charter. It was also a total violation of Roosevelt's solemn promises to the Polish people. Unfortunately, only 7 million Germans returned. This means that the official death toll of 2 million is highly suspect.
Here is what Adenauer said.
"According to American estimates, some 13.8 million Germans were expelled from Eastern Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, etc. 7.8 million arrived in the eastern and western zones. 6 millions Germans disappeared from the face of the Earth. They are dead and gone . . . A large number of able-bodied men and women were taken to Russia. The expulsion of these 13-14 million people from their homes, home which their forefathers had inhabited for centuries, has inflicted unending suffering . . . the expulsions began with the Potsdam Agreement of August 2, 1945. I am convinced that history will judge this document harshly" (Konrad Adenauer, "Erinnerungen 1945 – 1953," DVA, Stuttgart, 1965, S. 186).
The actual death toll might be higher in terms of figures below. Note the figure for Poland is from the 1939 borders.
Although no exact tally of expelled Germans exists, the following figures
represent a rough estimation of their numbers using various census and rationing
records, with help from the Zentrum
Gegen Vertreibungen:
|
Population |
|
|
Germany east of 1945 border (1944 ration office records) |
9,758,000 (est) |
|
Poland (1944 ration office records) (1939 borders) |
2,140,000 (est) |
|
Czechoslovakia (1930 census) |
3,071,000 |
|
Hungary (cited by Austrian government 1940) |
845,000 |
|
Romania (1930 census) |
745,000 |
|
Total |
16,559,000 (est) |
The official death figures are listed
here. Over 2 million Germans are confirmed killed by the
expulsions. However, this calculation never resolved the figure raised by
Audenauer.
Furthermore, the figure of 400,000 killed by bombing is highly suspect as is the 20,000 figure for the battles in Germany during 1945.
Since World War II the German political establishment has been very reluctant to investigate these matters. War crimes by England and America were a problem for NATO so these were ignored. War crimes by Poland and the Czechs were also hushed up because of German desires for better relations.
An utterly nonsensical event took place when an official "study" tried to pretend that only 25,000 German were killed in the giant fire bombing attack on Dresden
However, as time goes by, these matters will be researched and the world will know more. Exact figures will never be known. However, the official figures are clearly way too low.
Here are some relevant books on the subject.
After the Reich: The Brutal History of the Allied Occupation
A Terrible Revenge: The Ethnic Cleansing of the East European Germans
Crimes and Mercies: The Fate of German Civilians Under Allied Occupation, 1944-1950
Endgame, 1945: The Missing Final Chapter of World War II
Forgotten Voices: The Expulsions of the Germans from Eastern Europe after World War II
Hellstorm: The Death of Nazi Germany
In the Wake of War: The Reconstruction of German Cities after World War II
Orderly and Humane: The Expulsion of Germans after the Second World War
Savage Continent: Europe in Aftermath of World War II
The Other Price of Hitler's War: German Military and Civilian Losses Resulting from World War II