Research Catalog

The lost German East : forced migration and the politics of memory, 1945-1970

Title
The lost German East : forced migration and the politics of memory, 1945-1970 / Andrew Demshuk.
Author
Demshuk, Andrew, 1980-
Publication
New York : Cambridge University Press, 2012.

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StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
TextUse in library JFE 12-4314Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315

Details

Description
xxii, 302 p. : ill., maps; 24 cm.
Summary
"A fifth of West Germany's post-1945 population consisted of ethnic German refugees expelled from Eastern Europe, a quarter of whom came from Silesia. As the richest territory lost inside Germany's interwar borders, Silesia was a leading objective for territorial revisionists, many of whom were themselves expellees. The Lost German East examines how and why millions of Silesian expellees came to terms with the loss of their homeland. Applying theories of memory and nostalgia, as well as recent studies on ethnic cleansing, Andrew Demshuk shows how, over time, most expellees came to recognize that the idealized world they mourned no longer existed. Revising the traditional view that most of those expelled sought a restoration of prewar borders so they could return to the east, Demshuk offers a new answer to the question of why, after decades of violent upheaval, peace and stability took root in West Germany during the tense early years of the Cold War"--Provided by publisher.
Subject
  • Germans > Europe, Eastern > History > 20th century
  • Silesians > Germany (West) > History
  • Silesians > Ethnic identity
  • Nationalism > Silesia
  • World War, 1939-1945 > Refugees
  • Population transfers > Germans
  • Refugees > Germany (West) > History
  • Refugees > Silesia > History
  • HISTORY / Europe / General
  • Germany (West) > Emigration and immigration > History
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents
Machine generated contents note: 1. From colonization to expulsion: a history of the Germans in Silesia; 2. The quest for the borders of 1937: expellee leaders and the 'right to the homeland'; 3. Homesick in the Heimat: Germans in postwar Silesia and the desire for expulsion; 4. Residing in memory: private confrontation with loss; 5. Heimat gatherings: recreating the lost East in West Germany; 6. Travel to the land of memory: homesick tourists in Polish Silesia; 7. 1970 and the expellee contribution to Ostpolitik; Epilogue: 8. The forgotten East.
Call Number
JFE 12-4314
ISBN
  • 9781107020733 (hardback)
  • 1107020735 (hardback)
LCCN
2011049972
OCLC
YBP 2011049972
Author
Demshuk, Andrew, 1980-
Title
The lost German East : forced migration and the politics of memory, 1945-1970 / Andrew Demshuk.
Imprint
New York : Cambridge University Press, 2012.
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Research Call Number
JFE 12-4314
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