Ethnic Cleansing in Twentieth-Century Europe [antikvár]

Foreword T thnic cleansing has been part of human history ever since classical times (witness the Babylonian Captivity of the Jews lin the sixth century B.C.), but it did not become a commonly applied method of mass persecution until the twentieth century. Not until the century of Hitler and Stalin were tens of millions of people uprooted and forcibly ejected from their ancient lomelands. This mass phenomenon affected many diverse nationalities and religious groups, among them the Armenians, Greeks, Turks, Hungarians, Jews, Germans, Croats, Serbians, Bosnians, and Crimean Tatars, as well as many others. These groups all suffered because of the misdirected ideologies of Nazism, Communism, and national chauvinism. In terms of numbers, however, no one was more affected than the Germans, who had to witness the expulsion of fifteen to seventeen million of their co-nationalists from the lands which they had settled, tilled, and cultivated for many centuries. These involved the Germans of former eastern Germany (now part of Poland and Russia), the Baltic countries, as well as the lands of the former Habsburg Empire. The latter included the Sudeten Germans and the Zipsers of short-lived Czechoslovakia, the Saxons of Transylvania, the Danubian Swabians of Hungary and former Yugoslavia, as well as various other scattered German ethnic islands throughout Eastern Europe. I agree with President George W. Bush, who stated that "Ethnic cleansing is a crime against humanity, regardless of who does it to whom." I also agree with the United Nations Draft Declaration on Population Transfer, which states that "Every person has the right to remain in peace, security and dignity in one's home, or one's land and in one's country." It is this basic human right that has been grossly violated by those responsible for the expulsion of the Germans, Hungarians, Greeks, Armenians, and many others from their ancient homelands. And while much of this cannot be undone, the enormity of this crime should be recognized and acknowledged. The world should also learn about these violations of the basic human rights of many millions; if for no other reason, then to prevent any future expulsions on such a horrendous scale.