Heimatvertriebene in Schwäbisch Gmünd / German Expellees in Schwäbisch Gmünd

(English translation:), The victors of World War II decided at the Potsdam Conference in August 1945 that the German territories east of the Oder-Neisse line would come under Polish or Soviet administration. The Germans living there were to be resettled in a "humane way", when in fact they were brutally expelled., Because Schwäbisch Gmünd had survived the war without any major devastation, the city and the surrounding district had to take in a particularly large number of expellees. In 1944, the city had 22,941 inhabitants, by 1949, the number had grown to 33,578. At that time, the proportion of displaced persons in the population of the city was 30.8%., The transports arrived in cattle cars or freight cars at the railway station. The displaced persons were initially housed in the city in 10 camps, the largest of which was in the Hindenburg High School, today's Parler Grammar School., The US military government urged the German authorities to clear the camps by July 1, 1947. This was intended to prevent ghettoization and to integrate displaced persons into society. Although many rooms and apartments were expropriated, accomodations were the central problem, since prior to the currency reform (1948), housing could not be built at all. Most of those settled here came from the Sudetenland, i.e., Czechoslovakia, and especially from the city/district of Gablonz on the Neisse, and they succeeded in rebuilding their fashion jewelery businesses here, making an important contribution to the local economy.