Refugees and expellees in the soviet zone of Germany: Political and social problems of their integration, 1945–50

Abstract

Between 1945 and 1950 the integration of refugees into the Eastern part of post‐war Germany involved structural changes in the population, response to the enormous social needs of millions of impoverished people and reduced chances for a comprehensive social policy. It is often forgotten and became a taboo subject in the GDR itself that the communist state tried to pursue a special social‐integrative policy for ‘resettlers’, the ideological term for refugees and expellees. The policy was restricted and quickly abandoned during the 1950s but left behind an important residue in East German society.