I’ve written lots about how Germany and German influences affected Bohemia and Czechia. This is what led to a backlash after World War II. This article explores the little-known story of how Czechoslovakia wanted a German expulsion after the war.
Context
As with everything in life, context is key.
Due to the individual fiefdoms and kingdoms in Central Europe, there had always been plenty of Germanic influence in Bohemia.
The 30 years’ war is one of the most important historical episodes because it paved the way for a separation of church and state.
This war started in Prague, affected present-day Czechia in many ways, and led to the Peace of Westphalia.
After this point, the Hapsburgs ruled the region from Vienna. Things evolved up till the point where the Austro-Hungarian Empire was one of the major players in World War I.
The Hapsburgs weren’t trusted by the Czechs, especially after the siege of Prague. Prince Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination triggered the war, lived in Bohemia too.
In the inter-war period, politics was a messy affair. The Nazis rose to power in Germany and they leveraged the confusion and uncertainty. They annexed the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia, before invading and occupying the country.
I’ve explained what the Sudetenland was, and why it was important for Nazi Germany. It led to many wartime atrocities like the Death Marches.
Despite hundreds of years of living next to one another, it’s easy to see why Czechoslovaks no longer saw eye-to-eye with the Germans anymore.
Post World War II
The Czechoslovak resistance had long been calling for a German expulsion1. On 28 October 1945, at the provisional National Assembly, President Beneš stated1,
We decided to expel our Germans to the Empire. The Allies have confirmed this position to us internationally. We justify this by a number of the most serious reasons, not only political, but also moral, and I ask all our political actors to consider the issue at all, especially in terms of morality. We tried until 1938 and especially in 1938 to agree with them in a truly liberal and truly human spirit. All our attempts totally disappointed. It is clear today that since 1934, in full agreement with Hitler and under the full responsibility of the vast majority of our Germans, the disruption of our entire state has been planned. It was not just about joining our Germans to the empire. […] [They] must therefore leave, because there is simply no other solution in the interests of peace and quiet in Europe.
President Beneš, 2nd meeting of the Interim National Assembly of the Czechoslovak Republic in Prague on Sunday on October 28.
Without any context, this sounds like populist rhetoric.
So what actually happened?
The explusion
I can summarise the Czechoslovak approach in the following way:
- Czechoslovakia expelled all ethnic Germans and sent them to Germany. Thousands died violent deaths; many more died from hunger and disease2. A total of 2.1 million people moved to the American and Soviet sectors2 of occupied Germany.
- The state seized all German property as a deposit against war reparations.
It was a huge undertaking, especially because some had been living in Czechoslovakia for generations. These were ethnic Germans who had lived in Bohemia and had no specific ties to Germany anymore. But recent history meant there were few other solutions.
The matter is still a controversial one, 70 years after the war ended. These families were branded, and packed on trains for their new home.
It’s another World War II story I was completely unaware of before moving to the Czech Republic. It reinforces a mantra that I hold dear:
Dig deeper.
- Speech by the President of the Republic, Dr. Edvard Beneš; Digital library of the Czech Parliament; 1945-10-28[↩][↩]
- Memories of World War II in the Czech Lands: the expulsion of Sudeten Germans; Brian Kenety; 2005-04-14[↩][↩]