IB History Post-war Displacement in Europe Key Definitions

The countries who fought with Nazi Germany against the Allied powers during the Second World War; the key members were Germany, Italy and Japan.

Punishment imposed on a group for actions attributed to some of its members, often used to intimidate, deter, or reshape a population.

Forced marches of concentration camp prisoners carried out by the SS in the final months of the war, as Allied forces advanced. Guards evacuated camps and marched prisoners westward to prevent their liberation, killing those who fell behind. Tens of thousands died from exhaustion, exposure, and shooting.

A programme by which the Allies aimed to purge Nazi influence from German society and politics after the Second World War. Millions of Germans submitted questionnaires and appeared before tribunals that categorised them from 'major offenders' to 'exonerated'. The process was criticised for becoming less rigorous over time.

Temporary camps established after WWII to house people who could not return to their home countries. Run by Allied forces and later by the International Refugee Organization (IRO), the last DP camps did not close until 1957.

The act of leaving one's own country to settle permanently in another. After 1945, many displaced persons emigrated to the United States, Canada, Australia, and Latin America because they could not or would not return to their countries of origin.

Of or belonging to a population group or subgroup who share a common cultural background or descent; the "Aryans" according to Nazi ideology.

The common market established by the Treaty of Rome (1957), signed by France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The EEC created free movement of goods, services, labour, and capital among member states and a common external tariff. It expanded to include Britain, Ireland, and Denmark in 1973, and was transformed into the European Union by the Maastricht Treaty in 1992.

A neutral humanitarian organisation that traced missing persons, delivered food and medical aid, and helped reunite families separated by the war, working alongside Allied governments and UNRRA in the displaced persons camps.

The United Nations agency that took over refugee and displaced-persons work from UNRRA in 1947. Unlike UNRRA, the IRO refused to force displaced persons to return to countries under Communist control, and instead focused on resettling them in third countries.

French for "against our will." The term refers to approximately 130,000 men from Alsace and Lorraine who were conscripted into the German armed forces after Germany annexed these French territories in 1940. After the war, they faced suspicion from both French and German authorities.

Announced by US Secretary of State George Marshall in 1947, this programme used American resources to help European countries recover from the Second World War. Aid credits allowed infrastructure improvement and free trade was a condition of receiving Marshall Aid. It worsened US-Soviet relations and helped bring about the Cold War.

The movement of people from one place to another, whether within a country (internal migration) or across borders (international migration). Migration can be voluntary or forced, temporary or permanent.

German for "Eastern worker." A term used by the Nazi regime for forced labourers brought to Germany from occupied Eastern European territories, particularly the Soviet Union and Poland. Ostarbeiter were subjected to harsher conditions and lower rations than Western European workers.

Systematic or repeated harm, harassment, or discrimination directed at people because of their identity, beliefs, or perceived affiliations, often involving the state or powerful armed actors.

A meeting of Allied leaders (Truman, Stalin, Attlee) in July-August 1945 that decided the post-war treatment of Germany. Article XIII authorised the "orderly and humane" transfer of ethnic German populations from Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary.

The forcible return of refugees or asylum seekers to a country where they are liable to be subjected to persecution. The principle of *non-refoulement* is a cornerstone of international refugee law.

The organized transfer of populations from one area to another, often carried out by governments. After 1945, millions of ethnic Germans were relocated from Eastern Europe to occupied Germany under the terms of the Potsdam Agreement.

The return of displaced people to their country of citizenship. Many Allied governments initially favoured repatriation as the fastest solution to the refugee crisis, but it became controversial when large numbers of displaced persons refused to return to countries now under Soviet control.

The transfer of refugees from a first asylum country to a third country that agrees to admit them permanently. For Indochinese refugees, major resettlement countries included the United States, Australia, Canada, and France.

A military strategy of destroying resources (food, transport, housing) to prevent an enemy from using them, often with severe consequences for civilians.

A German term meaning "Zero Hour," referring to the absolute collapse of Germany in 1945. It marks the end of World War II and the start of a new, uncertain era characterized by total material and moral ruin.

The UN agency responsible for protecting refugees and finding durable solutions for them. In the Indochinese crisis, UNHCR coordinated camp management, screening processes, resettlement, and repatriation across Southeast Asia.

An international agency established in 1943 to provide aid to areas liberated from Axis powers. UNRRA managed displaced persons camps and coordinated repatriation before being replaced by the International Refugee Organization (IRO) in 1947.