The forced admission and integration of millions of displaced persons is one of the greatest socio-political achievements of post-war German society. In this process, the Cold War was a decisive factor. It is against this backdrop that the German economic miracle of the 1950s must be seen, to which the displaced people made a substantial contribution with their will to rebuild and rise in society.
The economic miracle created favourable conditions for the integration of millions of new citizens, which had not yet been considered possible in the 1940s. This was facilitated by the adoption of the "Lastenausgleichsgesetz" (Equalisation of Burdens Act) of 1952 and the "Bundesvertriebenen- und Flüchtlingsgesetz" (Displaced Persons and Refugees Act) of 1953.
Already during the prohibition of political coalitions by the Allies, the nucleus of "Landsmannschaften" (traditional regional and provincial associations) developed under the roof of the churches. After the ban was lifted, the displaced people organised themselves as from 1949 according to their place of origin. First "Landsmannschaften" were formed, which merged into the "Vereinigte ostdeutsche Landsmannschaften / VOL" (United East German Landsmannschaften). This was paralleled by the development of the "Zentralverband der deutschen Vertriebenen / ZvD" (Central Association of German Displaced Persons). Both merged in 1957 into the "Bund der Vertriebenen / BdV" (Association of Displaced Persons), the umbrella organisation for displaced persons which still exists today.
Illustration:
Proclamation of the "Charter of Displaced Persons" on the Schlossplatz (castle square) in Stuttgart.
On 5th August 1950, the "Zentralverband der deutschen Vertriebenen" (Central Association of German Displaced Persons) and the "Vereinigte ostdeutsche Landsmannschaften" (United East German "Landsmannschaften") adopted the "Charter of German Displaced Persons" in Stuttgart, in which they made above all socio-political demands on the federal government. They also rejected all calls for "revenge and retaliation" despite the injustices they had suffered. Such a commitment at this early stage was a noteworthy political act. The proclamation stated that German displaced persons were the most important group of victims, and did not refer to the German crimes - both these aspects make the Charter a typical document of how the Second World War and its consequences were remembered in the early years of the Federal Republic
Photo: picture-alliance/dpa