Orderly and Humane, R. M. Douglas
Orderly and Humane, R. M. Douglas
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Orderly and Humane
The Expulsion of the Germans after the Second World War

Author: R. M. Douglas

Narrator: Paul Woodson

Unabridged: 20 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 12/13/2022


Synopsis

The award-winning history of twelve million German-speaking civilians in Europe who were driven from their homes after WWII: "a major achievement" (New Republic).

Immediately after the Second World War, the victorious Allies authorized the forced relocation of ethnic Germans from their homes across central and southern Europe to Germany. The numbers were almost unimaginable: between twelve and fourteen million civilians, most of them women and children. And the losses were horrifying: at least five hundred thousand people, and perhaps many more, died while detained in former concentration camps, locked in trains, or after arriving in Germany malnourished, and homeless.

In this authoritative and objective account, historian R. M. Douglas examines an aspect of European history that few have wished to confront, exploring how the forced migrations were conceived, planned, and executed, and how their legacy reverberates throughout central Europe today. The first comprehensive history of this immense manmade catastrophe, Orderly and Humane is an important study of the largest recorded episode of what we now call "ethnic cleansing." It may also be the most significant untold story of World War II.

About R. M. Douglas

R. M. Douglas is Russell Colgate Distinguished University Professor of History, Colgate University. He lives in Hamilton, New York.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jozef on July 07, 2014

Important, must-read history of the little known history of the massive, deadly expulsions of ethnic "Germans" -- mostly innocent women and children -- from Eastern Europe immediately after WW2 and extending to 1947 and beyond. Asks and answers lots of thought-provoking questions on guilt, morality,......more

Goodreads review by Daniel on August 25, 2021

The expulsion of the ethnic Germans from eastern Europe after World War 2 makes for truly grim reading. While the author argues that it was not as bad as the Holocaust, it was anything but an "orderly and humane" movement of people (to quote Potsdam). The more I read about the Second World War and i......more

Goodreads review by Kelley on November 06, 2023

A WOW book about post-WW2 Europe Orderly and Humane is one of those WOW, eye-opening books that come along only every now and then. It focuses on the aftermath of World War 2 in Europe and how countries brutally forced the repatriation of ethnic Germans back to Germany. Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hunga......more

Goodreads review by Geraldine on February 28, 2016

Very thorough and fair book - certainly in the UK this is a part of history few people are aware of. I thought Douglas's decision not to focus on personal stories was good (other books have done this already). It is a tremendously relevant book at the moment as we live through a time with mass movem......more

Goodreads review by Wendy on March 24, 2025

A well-written scholarly work. I really enjoyed reading this orderly and faithful account of a part of history I didn't know existed. It seems that post-WW2, German nationals living in other parts of Europe were treated little better than the Jews.......more