Federation of Expellees - Historical Background

Historical Background

It is estimated that in the aftermath of World War II between 13 and 16 million ethnic Germans were expelled from the territories of Eastern Germany (present-day part of Poland), the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia (mostly from the Vojvodina region), the Kaliningrad Oblast (formerly northern part of East Prussia) area of Russia, Lithuania, Romania and other East European countries. The first president of the federation was a former Nazi judge and activist Hans Krüger. Today, the position is held by a CDU politician Erika Steinbach. The federation claims to represent the diaspora of ethnic Germans and their families.

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