At the end of World War II , the defeated Germans knew their social and economic environment would quickly decline. As the losers in war, their livelihood was dictated by the winners, the Allied powers. For them, this meant the complete destruction of their infrastructure, rationing of common necessities,and a high number of displaced persons. For some, they believe this is just a consequence of losing a war, especially when the Germans were responsible for millions upon millions of deaths and an unimaginable war crimes. However, when dealing with the remnants and punishing Germans for their actions, some would say some of the Allied powers’ actions and the actions of their soldiers were just as unjust. The Allied powers have fought and won on the purpose of world peace, liberty, and freedom, however these readings reveal the vile reality of post-war actions of the Allies – something even supporters wouldn’t be proud of.
During the post-war reorganization of the Europe, the Allied powers were responsible for the displacement of around 12 million and 14 million German-speaking people. These people were taken from their homes in European countries some, which included Hungary, Romania, and Czechoslovakia and placed in the ruins of the freshly defeated Germany. The conditions in which these people were transported could even be compared to the crimes of Germans. The irony of these actions were noticed the contemporaries at the time like Bertrand Russell who said “Are mass deportations crimes when committed by our enemies during war and justifiable measures of social adjustment when carried out by our allies in time of peace?” (pg.4). These atrocities were never really acknowledged but they did not stop there. Post-war occupation by the Russians brought horror to the women of Germany. The Red Army was responsible a countless number of rapes – something the women had been warned came with defeat. These actions combined with living in ruins, not to mention reaching for basic necessities and goods from a deregulated, and returning to bargaining all caused the Germans to feel dehumanized.
Much of the story is often forgotten or purposely untold. But many question whether these atrocities committed by the Allied powers were just a factor of losing a war. However, the supporters of the Allied powers who were rallying for justice may have been outraged at this uncivilized treatment of human beings. Since the allied powers were supposedly the side that was more morally motivated- how could they let this happen? Perhaps, that is why it is not overtly publicized -because the revelation would be too heavy for the public.
Like the discovery of the concentration camps, often the public is unaware of what is happening until months sometimes years later. In the case of the DPs and reconstruction of Europe, I think that the United States public in particular was oblivious to what was happening in post war Europe because the war was finished and the US was experiencing an economic boom. Europe was thousands of miles away and as far as US citizens were concerned, their work was done.