Savage continent by Europe In The Aftermath Of World War II

Author:Europe In The Aftermath Of World War II
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 1601-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

19

The Expulsion of the Germans

The eastern border of Poland was not the only one to move in 1945.

When the Big Three met at Tehran they also discussed what would happen to Poland’s western border. Churchill and Roosevelt were keen to compensate the Poles for what they would lose to Stalin by giving them parts of Germany and East Prussia instead. Churchill explained this

proposal in a late-night session on the first day of the conference.‘Poland

might move westwards,’ he said, ‘like soldiers taking two steps “ left

close” . If Poland trod on some German toes, that could not be

helped . . .’ To demonstrate what he meant, he placed a row of three

matchsticks on the table and moved them each to the left. In other -

words, what Stalin took on the eastern side of Poland, the international

community would give back on the western side.1

Stalin was delighted with this idea, not only because it legitimized his

seizure of Poland’s eastern borderlands, but because it pushed the

demarcation line between Moscow and the Western Allies even further

westwards. The only nation to lose substantial amounts of territory

would be Germany, for whom it was regarded as a fitting punishment.

Once again, there was no consultation of the ‘freely expressed wishes

of the peoples concerned’, as promised by the Atlantic Charter. Such a

consultation amongst the people of eastern Germany was naturally

impossible while the war was on - but none of the superpowers considered it necessary to wait until after the war was over before pushing ahead. As the British Foreign Secretary stated to Parliament in justification of these plans, ‘There are certain parts of the Atlantic Charter which refer in set terms to victor and vanquished alike . . . But we cannot admit that Germany can claim . . . that any part of the Charter applies to her.’2

Discussions about the borders between Poland and Germany therefore

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