The influx of refugees in Schleswig-Holstein after the Second World War was one of the biggest difficulties faced in Germany in the early post-war period. Per capita, the Province of Schleswig-Holstein of Prussia, later the state of Schleswig-Holstein, took in the second-most refugees and displaced persons from the former eastern territories of Germany between 1944 and 1947, second only to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.[1] This led to an economic and humanitarian crisis in the state throughout the late 1940s. The situation was only resolved in the 1950s as the Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle) enabled physical reconstruction, raised living standards, and aided in integrating the hundreds of thousands of new residents.[2]
Refugees began to enter Schleswig-Holstein as early as 1943, when 200,000 people north of the Lower Elbe fled cities such as Hamburg, which was destroyed by Allied bombing campaign, to rural areas in neighbouring states. When the Red Army reached the borders of Nazi Germany in 1944, millions of Germans began to flee west. During 1944 and 1945, Kriegsmarine vessels brought over two million people across the Baltic Sea to Mecklenburg and Schleswig-Holstein. When Allied forces reached the western border of Germany, more people began to flee into Schleswig-Holstein, which Allied forces reached only in the very last stages of the war. From March to June 1945 alone, 700,000 refugees and displaced persons settled in towns and villages across the state.
After the war, Schleswig-Holstein became part of the British occupation zone. Over a million Wehrmacht soldiers were interned in two "restricted areas" within the state.[3] It was not until April 1946 that these soldiers were released – 410,000 from the Dithmarschen–Eiderstedt zone and 570,000 from the Plön zone. Even then, over 200,000 former so-called "foreign workers" and forced labourers remained in the camps, and a further 365,000 refugees and displaced persons took refuge in them by the end of 1946.
In the first "all-German" census in October 1946, Schleswig-Holstein recorded a population of 2.6 million, excluding displaced persons. This was an increase of approximately one million from 1939. Excluding the war deaths, this meant that the state was home to approximately three refugees for every four locals. This was much higher than other states, such as Lower Saxony (one refugee to two locals) and Bavaria (one refugee to three locals).[2] The population continued to rise even after the war, reaching 2.7 million in 1949.
Living conditions and employment
Despite extensive bombing of Lübeck and especially Kiel, a relatively large area of Schleswig-Holstein escaped the destruction of the war. In the first few years after the war, only one-fifth of the refugees in the state resided in Flensburg, Kiel, Lübeck and Neumünster. By contrast, the population of the rural Eckernförde and Stormarn districts doubled in the same period; in Rendsburg and Eiderstedt, the increase was 65%. In some areas, the influx was overwhelming; the town of Großhansdorf was home to 1,500 locals alongside 3,500 refugees.[2]
The influx of new residents triggered a massive crisis due to lack of housing, food, and employment. Rooms and apartments had to be shared or given up, and kitchens and toilets shared. Since many of the ceded rooms and emergency accommodations were unheated, stoves were set up for warmth. Coal and wood were scarce and expensive, so peat was used as fuel wherever possible. Wool was collected from fences and spun to make clothing, with other material taken from old uniforms, blankets, and bedding. In the first years after the war, the state faced a chronic food shortage; refugees and displaced persons were particularly affected. The food available via ration cards was not sufficient, and many people resorted to the black market, harvest work, or taking food from fields to get by.[1][2]
All employees and workers suffered from the job shortage in the first few years, but the refugees and displaced persons were hit harder than locals. Many lacked the skills required for the available work; even overqualified workers had to retrain and accept what was available. Of 69,000 refugees who had formerly been self-employed, most had worked in agriculture; of this group, only one-fifth had their own business again by 1949. The Refugee Settlement Act of August 1949, and the so-called "30,000 Hectare Agreement", which obliged large landowners to surrender land, provided relief.[4] Nonetheless, by 1958, only 4,246 displaced persons ran their own agricultural or forestry operations, and only half of them were over 10 hectares. Craftsmen suffered less - their services in the repair of consumer goods were sorely needed after the war. More than half of the 2,368 businesses registered state-wide in 1946 were run by refugees or displaced persons. Many fishermen who fled East Prussia also found employment in Kiel.[2]
On 1 April 1950, there were still 728 refugee camps in Schleswig-Holstein, housing a total of 127,756 people. To keep the camps clean, access to sanitation and visits were regulated.[2] The state government had already recognized in 1948 that there was simply not enough work available in Schleswig-Holstein, and half a million refugees could only find wages in other states. A plan to relocate large numbers of refugees was therefore one of the first measures taken by the new federal government upon the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany. By 1960, 400,000 refugees and displaced persons from Schleswig-Holstein had left the state, mainly for North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg.[2] As a result, the state's population declined substantially, to 2.3 million.
Conflict
Given the catastrophic situation, in October 1945 provincial president Otto Hoevermann warned of tensions between the refugees and the local inhabitants. He believed an "emergency community" was required to resolve the economic and social crisis in the state. In addition to material hardship, there was friction and in some cases open hatred between groups. Some feared that Low Prussian and East Pomeranian dialects would displace Low German, while others complained about weddings between the residents and refugees. During Denazification, refugees were able to exonerate themselves of affiliation with the Nazis more easily than the locals since they lacked certificates and papers.
In his book Kalte Heimat ("Cold Homeland"), historian Andreas Kossert describes examples of prejudice directed against refugees and displaced persons by locals in Schleswig-Holstein. Records of violent sentiment survive, such as „In de Nordsee mit dat Schiet“ ("Into the North Sea with that shit [the refugees]"). In 1947, the Danish minority magazine Slesvigeren published a cartoon titled "Pied Piper", depicting Minister-President Hermann Lüdemann leading a pack of rats, labeled "refugees", to South Schleswig.[5]
In southern Schleswig, a large number of the locals turned to the Danish minority. The South Schleswig Association, which represents the Danes, grew from 2,700 members to 62,000 between the end of the war and 1946. Many of the new members had no Danish background, did not speak Danish, and had typical German names; these so-called "New Danes", who were often disparagingly called Speckdänes ("Bacon Danes"), hoped for the separation of southern Schleswig from the rest of Germany and the expulsion of the refugees.[6]
The British authorities decided that in order to counter the widespread discontent and to prevent potential conflict, refugees should be involved in the future development of the state, and that political parties dedicated specifically to their interests should be banned. This ban was lifted in 1948. The German authorities, and later the appointed and elected state governments, took into account the intention of the occupation authorities, albeit placing less importance on these issues.
Politics
In 1950, the League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights (BHE) was formed, a right-wing party appealing to refugees and displaced persons. In the Schleswig-Holstein state election in 1950, the BHE performed exceedingly well, winning 23.4% of votes and becoming the second largest party in the state Landtag. This stoked fears of a "takeover" by refugees, but the BHE ultimately joined a coalition government with the moderate Christian Democratic Union, which provided Minister-President Walter Bartram, and the liberal Free Democratic Party. Notably, the coalition also included the "South Schleswig Community", represented by the German Party, a group formed by local Schleswig-Holsteiners to oppose the BHE. The formation of this government eased tensions between the two groups.[2]
The BHE's popularity declined after 1950, though it retained a more significant presence in Schleswig-Holstein than in other states. As the economic miracle resolved many of the difficulties of refugees, the party attempted to broaden its appeal to nationalist voters and ex-Nazis, and in the process lost much support among its core demographic. After adding "All-German Bloc" to its name, the GB/BHE won 14.0% in Schleswig-Holstein in 1954 and 6.9% in 1958, before losing its seats in 1962.
Throughout the 1950s, the economic miracle saw a rise in living standards and a boom in the economy nationwide, including in Schleswig-Holstein. The relocation of many refugees to other states began, easing pressure on the economy and particularly housing. The number of unemployed refugees finally began to fall: from 135,144 in 1951 to 22,143 in 1957.[2]
When capital and building materials became available at the beginning of the decade, reconstruction began. Purely refugee-populated settlements such as Trappenkamp emerged and the first systematic, uniform and centrally controlled post-war housing construction program began. It took place under the leadership of the trade unions and was implemented at 84 locations in 50 cities and municipalities across the state. The foundation stone was laid on 5 March 1950 in Neumünster.[7] In many cities and municipalities, street names - Ostpreußenring (East Prussia Circle), Pommernweg (Pomerania Way), Breslauer Straße (Breslau Street), and many others - serve as symbols of the origin of the people who moved there.
Memorials
In 2011, the Center Against Expulsions curated the exhibition "Arrived - The Integration of Expellees in Germany",[8] followed in 2013 by "Foreign Home - Refugees and Displaced Persons in Schleswig-Holstein after 1945".[9]
Related Research Articles
The Federation of Expellees is a non-profit organization formed in West Germany on 27 October 1957 to represent the interests of German nationals of all ethnicities and foreign ethnic Germans and their families who either fled their homes in parts of Central and Eastern Europe, or were forcibly expelled following World War II.
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig. Its capital city is Kiel; other notable cities are Lübeck and Flensburg.
The Duchy of Schleswig was a duchy in Southern Jutland covering the area between about 60 km north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been divided between the two countries since 1920, with Northern Schleswig in Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany. The region is also called Sleswick in English.
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 249,023 (2016).
Nordfriesland is the northernmost district of Germany, part of the state of Schleswig-Holstein. It includes almost all of traditional North Frisia along with adjacent areas to the east and south and is bound by the districts of Schleswig-Flensburg and Dithmarschen, the North Sea and the Danish county of South Jutland. The district is called Kreis Nordfriesland in German, Kreis Noordfreesland in Low German, Kris Nordfraschlönj in Mooring North Frisian, Kreis Nuurdfresklun in Fering North Frisian and Nordfrislands amt in Danish.
Husum is the capital of the Kreis (district) Nordfriesland in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The town was the birthplace of the novelist Theodor Storm, who coined the epithet "the grey town by the sea". It is also the home of the annual international piano festival Raritäten der Klaviermusik founded in 1986.
Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany.
The Danish ethnic minority in Southern Schleswig, Germany, has existed by this name since 1920, when the Schleswig Plebiscite split German-ruled Schleswig into two parts: Northern Schleswig, with a Danish majority and a German minority was united with Denmark, while Southern Schleswig remained a part of Germany and had a German majority and Danish and Frisian minority populations. Their historic roots go back to the beginning of Danish settlement after the emigration of the Angles. One of the most common names they use to describe themselves is danske sydslesvigere.
Eckernförde is a German town in Schleswig-Holstein, Kreis Rendsburg-Eckernförde, on the coast of the Baltic Sea approximately 30 km north-west of Kiel. The population is about 23,000. Eckernförde is a popular tourist destination in northern Germany.
The Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the Academia Holsatorum Chiloniensis by Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and has approximately 27,000 students today. Kiel University is the largest, oldest, and most prestigious in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. Until 1864/66 it was not only the northernmost university in Germany but at the same time the 2nd largest university of Denmark. Faculty, alumni, and researchers of the Kiel University have won 12 Nobel Prizes. Kiel University has been a member of the German Universities Excellence Initiative since 2006. The Cluster of Excellence The Future Ocean, which was established in cooperation with the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel in 2006, is internationally recognized. The second Cluster of Excellence "Inflammation at Interfaces" deals with chronic inflammatory diseases. The Kiel Institute for the World Economy is also affiliated with Kiel University. The university has a great reputation for its focus on public international law. The oldest public international law institution in Germany and Europe - the Walther Schuecking Institute for International Law - is based in Kiel.
Neumünster is a city in the middle of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. With more than 79,000 registered inhabitants, it is the fourth-largest municipality in Schleswig-Holstein.
The All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights was a right-wing political party in West Germany, which acted as an advocacy group of the Germans fled and expelled in and after World War II.
Following the collapse and defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, the victorious Allies asserted joint authority and sovereignty over Germany as a whole, collectively known as Allied-occupied Germany, defined as all territories of the former German Reich west of the Oder–Neisse line, having declared the destruction of Nazi Germany at the death of Adolf Hitler. The four powers divided "Germany as a whole" into four occupation zones for administrative purposes under the three Western Allies and the Soviet Union, respectively. This division was ratified at the August 1945 Potsdam Conference. The four zones were agreed by the United States, United Kingdom and Soviet Union at the February 1945 Yalta Conference, setting aside an earlier division into three zones proposed by the September 1944 London Protocol.
Schönkirchen is a municipality in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
Nortorf is a town in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is approximately 13 km northwest of Neumünster, and 25 km southwest of Kiel.
List auf Sylt is the northernmost municipality in Germany, located on the North Sea island of Sylt close to Denmark in the district of Nordfriesland in the state of Schleswig-Holstein.
The Schleswig-Holstein Landtag is the state parliament of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It convenes in the state's capital Kiel and currently consists of 73 members of six parties. The current majority consists of a "Jamaica coalition" of the Christian Democratic Union, The Greens and the Free Democratic Party, supporting the cabinet of Minister President Daniel Günther.
Eva Gräfin Finck von Finckenstein was a German politician, representative of the German Christian Democratic Union.
Waldemar Kraft was a German politician. A member of the SS in Nazi Germany, he served as Managing Director of the Reich Association for Land Management in the Annexed Territories from 1940 to 1945, administering parts of occupied Poland. After the war, he became a West German politician, sitting in the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein from 1950 to 1953 and serving as Minister of Finance. He entered the Bundestag in 1953 and served as Federal Minister for Special Affairs in the Cabinet of Chancellor Konrad Adenauer from 1953 to 1956. He retired from the Bundestag in 1961.
Schönhorst is a local center within the municipality Schönkirchen in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
↑ Working Group for Contemporary Building (Ed.): Johannes Scharre, Ulrich Haake: "The construction of 10,000 refugee apartments in Schleswig-Holstein (ERP special program 1950) - result, method, experiences and conclusions", / Working Group for Productive Refugee Aid; (Research report on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Housing No. 148 (2404/05)); Building research report of the Working Group for Contemporary Building No. 2, Kiel 1952, p. 10
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