''Heimkehrer'' (literally "homecomer") refers to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

German

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

and internees—

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

(Heer),

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

Ordnungspolizei The ''Ordnungspolizei'' (), abbreviated ''Orpo'', meaning "Order Police", were the uniformed police force in Nazi Germany from 1936 to 1945. The Orpo organisation was absorbed into the Nazi monopoly on power after regional police jurisdiction w ...

, behind-the-lines Hiwi security and civilian personnel—who were repatriated to

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

and Austria after the war. Some of the late returnees were convicted war criminals who were subsequently tried in West Germany. By 1948, the number of German internees still held in captivity by major Allied powers was as follows: *

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

: 435,295 *

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

: 30,976 *

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

: 631,483 *

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

: 890,532

References

* Elena Agazzi, Erhard Schütz (Hrsg.): ''Heimkehr: eine zentrale Kategorie der Nachkriegszeit. Geschichte, Literatur und Medien.'' Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2010, . * Hans Reichelt: ''Die deutschen Kriegsheimkehrer - Was hat die DDR für sie getan?'' Berlin 2008, * Wolfgang Buwert (Hrsg.): ''Gefangene und Heimkehrer in Frankfurt (Oder)'' * Svenja Goltermann:
Kriegsheimkehrer in der west-deutschen Gesellschaft
', APuZ 36-37/2009, pp. 34–39 * Helmut Hirthe: ''Das Heimkehrerlager in Frankfurt-Gronenfelde'', in: Jürgen Maerz (Hrsg.): ''Wir waren damals 19'', Frankfurt (Oder) 1995 * Helmut Hirthe: ''Das Heimkehrerlager Gronenfelde - wichtige Station auf dem Weg in ein neues Leben'', in: Wolfgang Buwert (Hrsg.): ''Gefangene und Heimkehrer in Frankfurt (Oder)'', Potsdam 1998. . * Werner Kilian: ''Adenauers Reise nach Moskau.'' Freiburg im Breisgau u.a. 2005, . * Arthur L. Smith: ''Die vermisste Million. Zum Schicksal deutscher Kriegsgefangener nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg''. Oldenburg, München 1992 (Schriftenreihe der Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte; 65), . * Dieter Riesenberger (Hrsg.): ''Das Deutsche Rote Kreuz, Konrad Adenauer und das Kriegsgefangenenproblem. Die Rückkehr der deutschen Kriegsgefangenen aus der Sowjetunion (1952 - 1955).'' Donat-Verlag, Bremen 1994 (Schriftenreihe Geschichte und Frieden, Bd. 7), . * Dieter Riesenberger: ''Das Ringen um die Entlassung deutscher Kriegsgefangener aus der Sowjetunion (1952-1955)'', in: Dieter Riesenberger: ''Den Krieg überwinden.'' Donat-Verlag, Bremen 2008, . pp. 324–339 {{Refend Aftermath of World War II in Germany Aftermath of World War II in Austria German prisoners of war in World War II

See also

References