Historical Eastern Germany

Historic Eastern Germany or Ex-German Eastern Territories are terms which can be used to describe collectively those provinces or regions east of the Oder–Neisse line which were under the administration of a unified German state from 1871 until 1945 and were recognised as part of Germany by the majority of the international community. The terms are not being used in this article to describe East Germany - the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) country.

History

In 1871 those provinces or regions east of the Oder–Neisse line under administration of the Prussian state were incorporated into the German Empire created by Otto von Bismarck. But unlike the regions in what is today Germany, although there were large settled German communities in the territories east of the Oder–Neisse line, Germans did not make up all of the population, and in some regions they did not even make up a majority.

Related Topics:
1871 - Province - Region - Prussian - State - German Empire - Otto von Bismarck - German

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The territories to the east of the Oder–Neisse line which in 1871 were included in the German Empire were East Brandenburg, Silesia, East Prussia, West Prussia, Pomerania and Posen.

Related Topics:
East Brandenburg - Silesia - East Prussia - West Prussia - Pomerania - Posen

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At the end of World War I the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles included the loss of German colonies and loss of German territories. East of the Oder–Neisse line these territories were:

Related Topics:
World War I - Treaty of Versailles - German colonies

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• most of Greater Poland ("Provinz Posen") and Eastern Pomerania (West Prussia) that Prussia had conquered in Partitions of Poland was given back to reborn Polish state after Great Poland Uprising (area 53,800 km² 4,224,000 inhabitants (1931) including 510 km² and 26,000 inhabitants from Upper Silesia), ,
• Hulczyn area of Upper Silesia to Czechoslovakia (316 or 333 km² and 49,000 people),
• East part of Upper Silesia, after plebiscite, to Poland (area 3,214 km² 965,000 people)
• the area of Soldau in East Prussia (railway station on the Warsaw-Gdansk route) to Poland (area 492 km²),
• Northern part of East Prussia as Memelland under control of France, later transferred to Lithuania,
• plebiscite in Eastern part of West Prussia and in Southern part of East Prussia Warmia and Masuria, few villages to Poland.
• the city of Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland) with the delta of Vistula river at the Baltic Sea was made the Free City of Danzig under the League of Nations and partial Polish authority (area 1893 km², 408,000 inhabitants 1929).

With the defeat of Poland in 1939, at the start of World War II, many of the regions lost to Germany after World I were annexed along with some other areas which had never been part of a unified Germany. These annexations were not recognised by the Allied governments, that after the 1942 Declaration by the United Nations where also known as United Nations.

Related Topics:
Defeat of Poland - 1939 - World War II - Allied - 1942 - Declaration by the United Nations - United Nations

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After World War II as agreed at the Potsdam Conference all the areas under German jurisdiction east of the Oder–Neisse line, whether recognised by the international community as part of Germany since 1871 or annexed by Germany during World War II, were placed under the jurisdiction of other countries. Much of the German-speaking population which lived east of the Oder–Neisse line that had not already been evacuated by German authorities or fled from the advancing Red Army in the winter of 1944–1945 was expelled without compensation, including those who were members of families had lived in the region for generations. According to the Federation of Expellees (Bund der Vertriebenen in German), 15 million Germans were displaced from their homes and over 2 million people were killed or died during the process. These numbers, however, are disputed.

Related Topics:
Potsdam Conference - Evacuated - Red Army - 1944 - 1945 - Federation of Expellees - German

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~