"The European Atrocity You Never Heard About" Topic

Well, I have never heard about this.

"The screams that rang throughout the darkened cattle car crammed with deportees, as it jolted across the icy Polish countryside five nights before Christmas, were Dr. Loch's only means of locating his patient. The doctor, formerly chief medical officer of a large urban hospital, now found himself clambering over piles of baggage, fellow passengers, and buckets used as toilets, only to find his path blocked by an old woman who ignored his request to move aside. On closer examination, he discovered that she had frozen to death.

Finally he located the source of the screams, a pregnant woman who had gone into premature labor and was hemorrhaging profusely. When he attempted to move her from where she lay into a more comfortable position, he found that "she was frozen to the floor with her own blood." Other than temporarily stanching the bleeding, Loch was unable to do anything to help her, and he never learned whether she had lived or died. When the train made its first stop, after more than four days in transit, 16 frost-covered corpses were pulled from the wagons before the remaining deportees were put back on board to continue their journey. A further 42 passengers would later succumb to the effects of their ordeal, among them Loch's wife.

During the Second World War, tragic scenes like those were commonplace, as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin moved around entire populations like pieces on a chessboard, seeking to reshape the demographic profile of Europe according to their own preferences. What was different about the deportation of Loch and his fellow passengers, however, was that it took place by order of the United States and Britain as well as the Soviet Union, nearly two years after the declaration of peace…"
Full article here
link

Amicalement
Armand

I have no doubts that the resettlement of the Germans was callously done, the article mentions an "economic miracle" in the west. The name of the economic miracle is the Marshall plan -an effort to rebuild Germany at enormous cost to the US

Wrong but understandable. A few years earlier Germany had used the presence of those minorities to annex/invade countries. They had learned the lesson that having sizeable minorities from a powerful neighbour can be dangerous.

I think it is a lesson being relearnt today in the Ukraine.

David Niven and Topol starred in a movie about this, "Before Winter Comes."

From Wikipedia:

Before Winter Comes takes place in the immediate aftermath of World War II. British Major Giles Burnside (David Niven) is assigned to an Austrian refugee camp; his mission is to send the groups of displaced civilians to either the Russian or the American zone. Burnside is a by-the-books commander but runs into trouble with the intertranslations of many different languages. However, of the refugees, Janovic (Topol) is willing to help as he can speak many languages. Janovic quickly conveys Burnsides's orders and helps the way station run smoothly. Janovic runs into romance with a lovely innkeeper, Maria (Anna Karina). But his love with her stops when he discovers her affair with Burnside. Meanwhile, Janovic is found to be a Russian deserter, and must be returned to the Russian mainland to be executed. Burnside offers to help him escape, but Janovic can't decide whether to trust his commander.

The difference between victors and vanquished, is that the victors are not tried for war crimes.

Ballhooks.

Tragedy has no borders, ethinicites, race, nationality, etc. … To quote/paraphase a very famous and well known source … "He who is without sin cast the first stone. " … "The rain falls upon the just and unjust alike." Note: I'm not "Jesus Freak", Born Again, Bible Thumper", etc. … however, I believe there is something worthwhile in those lines of text …

With respect, GarrisonMiniatures, the Russians didn't learn this from the Germans -- they killed and deported hundreds of thousands of ethnic minorities (Poles, Balts and Ukrainians) in the 30s. Not that excuses anyone -- there's just plenty of blame to go around in that neck of the woods.

Sometimes ethnic cleansing can be worthwhile. Just look at the post-WWI exchange of population between Greece and Turkey. Not very nice at the time, but I'm sure it avoided later problems down the road.

Similarly, Czechoslovakia, Poland, etc had every reason to be suspicious of ethnic Germans in their country.

Or look how the Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians treat the ethnic Russians. Perfectly justified, in my view.