I'm standing in the Polish city of Olsztyn which used to be a German city in Germany's
easternmost province East Prussia. It was known as Allenstein. This
city was flooded with refugees that wanted to make their way West as soon as possible, because the
marauding Soviets were closing in on them. This is the story of the evaucation
of East Prussia, the story about the German refugees of World War II.
Welcome back everyone. If this is your first time here, welcome to History Hustle. I'm Stefan,
history teacher, hustling history for you. Please consider subscribing and
don't forget to hit the notification bell to join the hustle. Let's start!
In the autumn of 1944 the first Soviet troops got a foodhold on
German ground. They pushed through as reached a village named Nemmersdorf. Shortly after
this village was retaken by the Germans who made a horrible discovery: they found
of 20 inhabitants murdered and all houses destroyed. Between November and January there
was a lull in the fighting. Then the Soviets continued their offensive in East Prussia as
so the atrocities continued. The Red Army soldiers were out for revenge. Revenge
of the brutal behavior of the German troops during the Russian campaign. Many Red Army soldiers had
one if not more family members killed in the war. Those soldiers whose family's lived in areas that
were seized by the German soldiers sometimes had their whole families killed. Furthermore, as the
Soviets retook Ukraine they witnessed the massive death and destruction the Germans had caused.
In 1944 evacuation plans were made. However, these plans had to A) be approved and B) carried out. In
October the nazi party officials in Königsberg acceded to the desperate pleas of both military
and civilian authorities to evacuate the region. Around half a million people (20% of East Prussian
population) left East Prussia by the time the Russians started their offensive, either due to
evacuation orders of by their own initiative. Yet, full evacuation orders weren't given.
It would have a bad effect on public opinion. Nazi Gauleiter Erich Koch rejected requests
of full evacuation. East Prussia will be defended, he said. Therefore no arrangements had been made.
Private preparations for evacuation were subject to harsh penalties. Nevertheless, some people
did prepare in secret. I get to these later. In January the Soviets continued their attack on
East Prussia. Soviet general Ivan Chernyakhovsky (Tsjern-jak-hofsky) noticed that the German forces
near Insterburg were strong, so he performed an attack at Tilsit in the north and therefore
attacked the Germans in the rear. Soviet general Konstantin Rokossovsky (Ro-kos-sofski) attacked at
Allenstein. With his tank forces general bypassed Elbing
therefore largely cutting off East Prussia. Even at this point Gauleiter (district leader) Erich
Koch refused the full evacuation of civilians. Many civilians went anyway. Retreating German
troops warned civilians to leave inmediatly. Some civilians took a train from Königsberg to
Allenstein, thinking they escaped, but since Allenstein was taken by the
Soviets, they ended up in the hands of the Red Army but brutal consequences. German men and boys
were murdered and girls and women raped. There was one possible escape via land: via the Frische
Nehrung (now the Vistula Spit). In order to reach many fleeing civilians crossed the frozen lagoon
while being under fire by Soviet artillery and aircrafts. The Germans did carry out Operation
Hannibal in which military personel and to a lesser urgency civilians were evacuated by ship
from Courland, East Prussia, and the Polish Corridor.
East Prussian aristocrat Alexander Dohna who lived at Schloss Schlobitten organized a
great trek to the West. In January his palace was filled with refugees.
Countess Marion Dönhoff who lived in castle Friedrichstein (20 km east of Königsberg) was a
member of another East Prussian landowning family. During the war she was in contact with the Kreisau
Circle, a group of intellectuals that resisted Hitler. Later she would become a journalist.
Anyhow, when the Germans suffered their first defeats on the Eastern Front, she knew that
one day East Prussia would be lost. Some of her workers refused to join the trek. They believed
the Soviets would kill the landowners whereas the workers would be needed to work in the field.
Countless of East Prussians died en route. The majority of East Prussians successfully
did escape the Red Army in 1945 (2M out of 2,6M). Thousands of them were overtaken by the Red Army.
Those who did survive this went back to their homes, only there was nothing to go back to.
Many homes were looted and burned down. And little did they know that the allies had agreed
to eradicate East Prussia. After WW2 was over, and East Prussia as well as Silizia and Pomerania were
no longer German territory, the Germans living these, as well as the Germans elsewhere in
Central Europe were expelled. If you want to know more about these German expulsions,
click here. About Germany's territorial evolution, click here.