The United States and the Deportation of the German Population from Poland and the Former Lands of East Germany in 1945–1948

Abstract. The crisis of the Yalta-Potsdam system of international relations, is accompanied by the ongoing tense of humanitarian situation on the European continent. This creates the need to search for possible causes of the growing confrontation between a number of Western countries and the Russian Federation and to investigate them more deeply. This article examines the US policy regarding the deportation of Germans from the former East German lands and from Poland in the first post-war years. The main motives of the American leadership in the resettlement of the German population from the territories east of the Oder-Neisse line are investigated. In addition, an attempt is being made to assess the impact of this issue on the genesis of the Cold War. The author analyzes a large amount of factual material and draws conclusions about the duality of US policy on the issue of deportation of Germans from the lands of East Germany annexed to Poland. Pragmatism dominated the motives of the American leadership, and economic factors played a decisive role in choosing political tactics. The United States leadership blamed the Soviet Union for the inhumane methods of resettlement of the German population used by the post-war Polish government, which greatly contributed to the escalation in relations between the two powers.

Keywords: Cold War, Poland, deportation of Germans, Yalta Conference, the diplomacy of the USA, Potsdam Conference.