On May 8, 1945, Nazi Germany announced its unconditional surrender, and the devastated Second World War finally came to an end. In addition to the joy of the end of the war, there was also a brutal reckoning that permeated the skies over Europe. Both to one's own country and to one's enemy. As the most responsible country in World War II, Germany was broken into four pieces by the Allies and the Soviet Union. In addition to this, retaliation against Germany was also launched.
First of all, crazy evictions. Under the Potsdam Agreement, Germany's original territory changed considerably, and in addition to the loss of the war occupation zone, much of the eastern territory was given to the Soviet Union and Poland. Then a vigorous deportation campaign took place in various countries, scrambling to drive the Germans back to Germany, even though they might have lived there for hundreds of years.
Poland expelled 3.6 million people, 1 million of whom claimed to be Poles;The restored Czechoslovakia expelled all Germans from the Sudetenland, totaling about 3 million peopleAustria also took the opportunity to "civilize" the relocation of 4.3 million German residents, who no longer had to worry about being merged.
As for the Germans in that part of the territory of the USSR, 6 million rushed away long before the arrival of the Soviet troops, and the rest were all consumed in the war. These Germans fully experienced the suffering of the Jews at that time, and countless people died of cold, starvation and torture along the way, and finally only 11 million people made it to Germany alive.
Second, forced labor. During World War II, the invasion of Nazi Germany caused a large number of deaths and injuries among young adults in other countries. After the defeat, they were naturally taken as laborers, and as early as 1943, Stalin said that 4 million German laborers were needed. And in Yalta in 1945, Churchill and Roosevelt also expressed demand. At the same time, the three parties ignored de Gaulle's quota demands, believing that he could go and fight Vichy France's idea.
Many Germans living on Poland's pre-war border were used as forced labor in labor camps for many years before they were expelled. Many camps were used to "detain" German soldiers and civilians to decide whether they could stay or leave, but in reality it was a slave labor program. About 200,000 Germans died in Soviet concentration camps in Poland. Poland** instructs to work at least 60 hours per week without the right to rest. Wages are not enough to survive, usually 25% or 50% of Polish wages.
Britain collected more than 400,000 prisoners of war, many of whom were transferred from American and Canadian prisoner of war camps. Many of them are used as forced labor as a form of "reparation". When it came time to repatriate them, more than 20,000 people had volunteered to remain in the UK.
In France, German prisoners were forced to dig mines, and by September 1945, French authorities estimated that 2,000 prisoners were maimed or killed in accidents every month, many weighing as little as 50 kilograms.
In the United States, prisoners of forced labor were transferred to Britain and France. For those prisoners in the United States, repatriation was also delayed due to harvest reasons. In Germany, where the United States is occupied, civilians between the ages of 14 and 65 are also registered for forced labor under the threat of prison and ration cards.
Again, violent bullying. After the four countries divided the military occupation zones, they basically bullied German women to some extent, but in different ways. Because such crimes are difficult to trace, there is currently a wide variation in the number of sources, which, combined with later ideological reasons, may have expanded or narrowed.
Finally, grab people, grab machines, grab drawings. After the defeat of Nazi Germany, the United States and the Soviet Union carried out Operation Paperclip and Operation Osawagan against Germany respectively. plundering of German scientists and technical personnel in various fields;All kinds of advanced technology drawings and industrial machines, etc. The plundering actions of the United States and the Soviet Union and other countries promoted the rapid development of science and technology in their own countries, especially the development of ballistic missile and rocket technology.