Post-war displacement in Europe — conditions
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Flip to reveal answersHow many people were displaced across Europe by 1945?
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Question
How many people were displaced across Europe by 1945?
Answer
Roughly 40 million people, according to historians' estimates.
Question
What is a displaced person (DP)?
Answer
Someone forced from their home by war, persecution or economic collapse who cannot yet return or resettle.
Question
What is a DP camp?
Answer
A temporary camp run by Allied authorities and later the UN to house displaced people until they could resettle or return home.
Question
What is forced labour (in this context)?
Answer
People made to work against their will, especially the ~8 million foreign workers Nazi Germany forced into Germany during the war.
Question
Name the three main conditions that caused mass displacement in post-war Europe.
Answer
(1) Combat operations and Allied victory, (2) persecution and fear of reprisals, (3) economic factors (destroyed cities, food and housing shortages).
Question
Why did the Allied victory itself create displacement, not just end it?
Answer
As Allied troops advanced in 1944–45 they liberated camp prisoners and forced labourers, who suddenly had no home, family or country to return to.
Question
Why did many Holocaust survivors avoid returning to their pre-war homes?
Answer
Their families had often been murdered, their property taken, and antisemitism sometimes persisted in their hometowns.
Question
Roughly how many ethnic Germans were expelled from Eastern Europe after 1945?
Answer
Around 12 million, expelled from countries like Poland and Czechoslovakia as revenge for Nazi occupation.
Question
Why did some people flee west out of fear of Soviet rule?
Answer
They feared arrest, forced labour in the USSR, or political persecution as the Red Army occupied Eastern Europe and installed communist governments.
Question
How did economic collapse cause displacement separately from violence or persecution?
Answer
Bombed-out cities, wrecked railways and a failed 1945–46 harvest left no housing, food or work, forcing people to move even without a political reason.
Question
Compare: what does 'persecution/fear' displacement have in common with 'economic collapse' displacement, and how do they differ?
Answer
Both pushed people to leave home, but persecution/fear was driven by specific threats from people (Nazis, expellers, Soviets), while economic collapse was driven by physical conditions (no food, housing, jobs) affecting almost everyone.
Question
For a Paper 1 Q1 (content) answer, what must you do with a detail you find in a source?
Answer
Name the specific detail, then explicitly link it to one of the named conditions (combat/victory, persecution/fear, economic collapse) and the inquiry question.
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Full study notes for Post-war displacement in Europe — conditions
Topic 4.1 hub
Post-war displacement in Europe (1945–1960)
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