STRETCH: Coming of Age in Post-War Germany

STRETCH: Coming of Age in Post-War Germany PDF

by: Gunter Nitsch

In the aftermath of World War II, the author was among those relocated in what may have been the largest forced resettlement of a population in modern history - the expulsion of at least twelve million people from the former German provinces of East Prussia, Silesia, and Pomerania, as well as from German enclaves in Eastern Europe. As a result, West Germany's population swelled with the arrival of millions of refugees. With housing already scarce, jobs hard to come by, and religious differences often setting them apart, the newcomers were not always welcomed with open arms.