Himmler's Auxiliaries: The Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle and the German National Minorities of Europe, 1933-1945 by Lumans Valdis O

Author:Lumans, Valdis O. [Lumans, Valdis O.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
Published: 2000-11-09T08:00:00+00:00

THE REST OF RUMANIA

With the Bessarabian and northern Bukovina resettlements under way, Reich officials began negotiating with the Rumanians for the removal of Volksdeutsche from two other parts of the country, the Dobrudja and southern Bukovina. As early as July 1940, resettlement from the Dobrudja, the area east and south of the final bend of the Danube, had been discussed, but it was postponed until after the completion of the Bessarabian operation. This resettlement and that from southern Bukovina were further exceptions to the Reich's policy of not removing Volksdeutsche from southeastern Europe. Neither territory was claimed by the Soviets, although the southern Dobrudja was about to be transferred to Bulgaria. In both cases, resettlement was mostly a matter of image. Unlike the two major groups in the southeast, the Transylvania Saxons and the Danube Swabians, who were economically important and positive contributors to German influence in the region, the Germans of the Dobrudja and southern Bukovina had little to offer. Indeed, their relative poverty and low local status were something of an embarrassment and stood in marked contrast to the superior image the Reich was trying to create for itself and the other German communities of the southeast.

On 22 October 1940, the Reich concluded an agreement with Rumania to resettle these two groups, and on 31 October, the RKFDV office issued the basic order for the operation. In general the responsibilities and procedures were the same as for the Bessarabian action. VoMi commandos found the registration and evacuation of the 15,399 Volksdeutsche from the Rumanian Dobrudja a relatively easy task. The local authorities created few problems, and the people, living in exclusively German settlements, were easy to identify as Germans. Once registered and collected, they embarked on ships and steamed up the Danube to the camps in Yugoslavia and from there on to the Reich.11

Things did not go as smoothly in southern Bukovina. The local authorities proved uncooperative and were reluctant to let the Germans leave. They believed the evacuation was the first step toward a fate similar to that of their neighbors farther north. Overall the local Germans responded positively to the appeal, as did large numbers of non-Germans. The prospect of Soviet rule—although not in store for them in the immediate future—was a prime motivator. Evidently VoMi officials performed a relatively slipshod screening here. On arrival in the Reich, many of these 52,107 resettlers were deemed racially unfit and had to be sent back.12

Some of the resettlers from Rumania had relatives who also wanted to leave, but they lived in parts of the country not designated for resettlement. The treaty of 22 October provided for their relocation as well as for the removal of Germans originally from the resettlement areas and presently living in other parts of Rumania. To facilitate their evacuation, VoMi set up centers in Bucharest, Sibiu (Hermannstadt), and Timisoara. These offices registered and sent on their way 5,000 more Volksdeutsche. There was also the question of numerous Volksdeutsche refugees, mostly deserters from the Rumanian army, who over recent years had fled to the Reich illegally and now sought permanent residency.

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