R. M. Douglas - Orderly and Humane: The Expulsion of the Germans after the Second World War

ORDERLY AND HUMANE

The Expulsion of the Germans after the Second World War

R. M. Douglas

Published with assistance from the Louis Stern Memorial Fund.

Copyright 2012 by. R. M. Douglas.
All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Douglas, R. M., 1963
Orderly and humane : the expulsion of the Germans after
the Second World War / R. M. Douglas.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-300-16660-6 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Population transfers
GermansHistory20th century. 2. Forced migrationCzech Republic
History20th century. 3. GermansCzech RepublicSudentenland
History20th century. 4. CzechoslovakiaPolitics and government19451992.
5. CzechoslovakiaEthnic relationsHistory20th century. 6. World War,
19391945Forced repatriation. I. Title.
D820.P72G426 2012
940.5314508931dc23
2011045449

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my beloved wife, Elizabeth

Considerations of space preclude me from acknowledging more than a handful of the many people who assisted me in the course of a research project that consumed more years than I would have dared to contemplate when commencing it. That this book exists at all is due to three people without whom it certainly would never have seen the light of day. Jane Pinchin, Colgate Universitys president, was the person whose justifiable impatience with my endlessly reiterated complaints that a work of this kind did not exist led her to insist that I cease grousing and do something about it myself. And the assurance of Sam Stoloff, my magnificent agent at Frances Goldin Literary Agency, that it would find its way into print at a time when I despaired of its ever attracting the attention of anyone other than my family and increasingly put-upon circle of friendsa promise on which he then proceeded in the face of considerable obstacles to make goodboosted my morale at a time when it was running at a low ebb. Above all my wife Elizabeth, my partner in this academic enterprise and much more than that in life, knows how much the appearance of this book owes to her. Its dedication to her is an inadequate form of recompense.

I should also like to express my thanks to some of those who went far out of their way to assist me without thought of reciprocation. I received especially invaluable assistance from Martina ermkov and Michaela (Misha) Raisov of Charles University in Prague, and from Karolina Papros of the University of Warsaw. The incomparable Fabrizio Bensi and Daniele Palmieri of the Archives du Comit International de la Croix Rouge in Geneva were unfailingly helpful, as was Fania Khan Mohammad of the CICR Library. Mrs. Vlasta Mnkova of the National Archives of the Czech Republic provided me with the same unstinting and expert assistance as she does to all who work in this field; and Colonel Josef ike and his staff at the Military Central Archives in Prague exerted themselves mightily in tracking down relevant material. So too did Amy K. Schmidt, the Volksdeutsche specialist at the National Archives and Records Administration in the United States, as well as Paola Casini and Romain Ledauphin of the United Nations Archives, New York City. My former Colgate colleagues Dr. Jim Bjork (now of Kings College, London) and Prof. Jonathan Wiesen (Southern Illinois University) read parts of the manuscript in draft, as did Prof. Timothy Waters of the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University; Dr. Kevin White of the University of Portsmouth; Prof. Rob Nemes of Colgate; and Mic Moroney of Dublin. I am deeply grateful to all of them for their expertise, advice, and guidance. I would also like to mention my particular appreciation of the contribution made by Gavin Lewis, whose detailed knowledge and keen editorial skills rescued me from an embarrassing number of mistakes and greatly improved the final product. Lastly, the Colgate University Research Council, through whom I obtained a Mellon Sabbatical Improvement Grant in 2007, ensured that the financial resources necessary to the completion of the book would be forthcoming. I stand indebted to them all, as well as to many others not mentioned here.