The enclosed text is quoted from the "conclusion" of the link given below. Clicking on this, you may read a very thorough investigation into the history that lead to the events of expulsion. I see this thesis as a frank appraisal of history, and it represents a balancing report to more widely published historical events. While we are well educated on the holocaust, this thesis represents the balance of what happened 'afterwards'. It answers the question so many immigrant families are encountering in researching their genealogy and are wondering what happened to members of their families who had remained behind, but can no longer be found in that area. Submitted by Aida <http://alfreddezayas.com/Books/theses.shtml> http://alfreddezayas.com/Books/theses.shtml 2. The expulsion of the Germans is a legitimate subject for scholarly research. It is one of the most portentous events in modern history, for it extinguished a community of cooperation between Slavs and Germans which had grown and flourished over several centuries. It therefore cannot simply be excluded from the common European experience. Unfortunately there still exists a certain taboo concerning this subject matter, which may not restrict research as such, but certainly restrains public discussion. It is, after all, a question of historical completeness. 3. Historians are bound by a scholarly and moral obligation to research and present historical events, to determine the facts and organize them into the greater historical context. It is unworthy of a free society and the spirit of free inquiry when historians who tackle controversial or unwelcome topics, no matter how serious and disciplined their work may be, are accused of concocting nothing more than "a balancing of accounts" or "apologies" for crimes. 4. The expulsions cannot be regarded as a question of crime and punishment. The task of punishing those responsible for the war and war crimes was delegated to the Nuremberg Tribunal, which introduced a new principle of international law, that of personal liability for the actions of politicians and soldiers. Nevertheless, 15 million Germans were expelled, or forced to flee, without any question as to their individual guilt or innocence. Any punishment which does not take personal responsibility or extenuating circumstances into account is juridically and morally indefensible. 5. Similarly, a principle of collective guilt cannot be applied to the expulsions, just as there can be no collective guilt for war. But there is surely a collective morality which commits us all to humane conduct toward one another. In other words, guilt can only be understood as belonging to the individual, whereas morality binds us all. 6. There can be no such thing as humane forced resettlement, a contradiction in terms, for the coerced loss of one's homeland can never be humane.

Would this be the same for people from Moravia? Alt-Moletein & Moletein, for example? My relatives ended up in Stuttgart. Marie ----- Original Message ----- From: "Aida Kraus" <draytonharbor@gmail.com> To: "GBHS" <german-bohemian@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, July 16, 2012 7:57 AM Subject: [GERMAN-BOHEMIAN] Conclusion to the subject Expulsion > The enclosed text is quoted from the "conclusion" of the link given below. > Clicking on this, you may read a very thorough investigation into the > history that lead to the events of expulsion. I see this thesis as a > frank > appraisal of history, and it represents a balancing report to more widely > published historical events. While we are well educated on the holocaust, > this thesis represents the balance of what happened 'afterwards'. It > answers the question so many immigrant families are encountering in > researching their genealogy and are wondering what happened to members of > their families who had remained behind, but can no longer be found in that > area. > > Submitted by Aida > <http://alfreddezayas.com/Books/theses.shtml> > > http://alfreddezayas.com/Books/theses.shtml > > 2. The expulsion of the Germans is a legitimate subject for scholarly > research. It is one of the most portentous events in modern history, for > it > extinguished a community of cooperation between Slavs and Germans which > had > grown and flourished over several centuries. It therefore cannot simply be > excluded from the common European experience. Unfortunately there still > exists a certain taboo concerning this subject matter, which may not > restrict research as such, but certainly restrains public discussion. It > is, after all, a question of historical completeness. > > 3. Historians are bound by a scholarly and moral obligation to research > and > present historical events, to determine the facts and organize them into > the greater historical context. It is unworthy of a free society and the > spirit of free inquiry when historians who tackle controversial or > unwelcome topics, no matter how serious and disciplined their work may be, > are accused of concocting nothing more than "a balancing of accounts" or > "apologies" for crimes. > > 4. The expulsions cannot be regarded as a question of crime and > punishment. > The task of punishing those responsible for the war and war crimes was > delegated to the Nuremberg Tribunal, which introduced a new principle of > international law, that of personal liability for the actions of > politicians and soldiers. Nevertheless, 15 million Germans were expelled, > or forced to flee, without any question as to their individual guilt or > innocence. Any punishment which does not take personal responsibility or > extenuating circumstances into account is juridically and morally > indefensible. > > 5. Similarly, a principle of collective guilt cannot be applied to the > expulsions, just as there can be no collective guilt for war. But there is > surely a collective morality which commits us all to humane conduct toward > one another. In other words, guilt can only be understood as belonging to > the individual, whereas morality binds us all. > > 6. There can be no such thing as humane forced resettlement, a > contradiction in terms, for the coerced loss of one's homeland can never > be > humane. > German-Bohemian Heritage Society web site http://www.rootsweb.com/~gbhs/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > GERMAN-BOHEMIAN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message