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The enormous refugee crisis bequeathed by the cumulative events of the "Arab Spring", the ongoing Syrian Civil War and the multiple collapses of civil authority across parts of Africa and the Middle East over the last decade challenges us, as professional historians of Germany and as politically sentient citizens, to respond. This Virtual Special Issue of German History, which focuses on some of the refugee and migration histories of the most recent German past, is animated by the belief that such a sense of powerlessness, while understandable, is misplaced. Above all, by foregrounding papers that focus on the humanity of historical refugees and migrants we are asserting that History, as a discipline, has a valuable role to play in reminding us of the obligations that come with our own. [Extracted from the article]

Recent military interventions by the West highlight persistent and unresolved problems regarding future foreign policy. Reconsidering the wider legacy and precedent of the British occupation of Germany from 1945 is critical in understanding these debates. Addressing a neglected topic, this article examines whether Britain reconciled its liberal democratic values as an occupying power, and in particular how its government tried to invoke the Christian ‘moral mandate’ of the British churches and voluntary organizations as an instrumental feature of policy, part of its civilizing mission in Germany. Central to this, however, were manifest contradictions between the churches’ rhetorical efforts to help the presentation of the moral case for military rule, and a policy vacuum that offered few practical measures to help German civilians, and especially expellees and refugees. Moreover, Britain's claims of moral leadership were at odds with its decision to delegate refugee matters to the German authorities. There were major differences in approach by church leaders, Whitehall ministers and civilian administrators in Germany in assessing how magnanimous to be in their treatment of Germany. With greater unanimity of purpose, humanitarian initiatives might have had greater success and become a more uniting symbol for reconciliation. The main failing was in the churches’ inability to modify government policy. Compassionate rhetoric and humanitarian relief efforts could not repair the damage caused by earlier political decisions to marginalize forced migrants that effectively punished them as Germans, a legacy of the occupation often sidestepped in order to focus on greater British achievements. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Between 1944 and 1958, the western zones of Germany had to absorb over nine million refugees who had fled or been expelled from their homes east of the Oder-Neiße rivers or had left the Soviet zone. Owing to these large numbers and the catastrophic housing conditions, many had to spend varying periods of time in camps. This article looks at refugee camps for German refugees in three West German Länder to examine the extent to which community-building can be seen to have taken place between 1945 and 1960. The development of the refugee camp phenomenon is traced, from the initial policies to ensure a quick turn-around, to the transformation of many camps into Wohnlager, providing facilities for everyday living, social events and employment. Perceptions of outsiders are analysed and found to show that they were rarely able to recognize instances of community growth. This may be largely explained by political considerations and concern over the social effects of living in a refugee camp environment. Finally, the article turns to Camp Poxdorf/Hagenau in Mid-Franconia to demonstrate how a refugee settlement with a thriving social life was able to emerge from an unremarkable hut camp. The conclusion places the refugee camps in the wider context of the postwar history of the FRG, arguing that fears surrounding ‘asocials’ in camps reflected wider fears about society, but, like the rest of the population, refugee camp residents were working towards achieving a state of normality. Camp communities can be seen to have aided integration by providing an environment where the residents could get used to their situation and look to the future. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Focuses on the integration problems of refugees with the German government from 1945 to 1955. Socioeconomic conditions of the refugees in the early post-war; Role of the Trek Association in the refugee resettlement program; Accommodation of refugees in the countryside.