The winter offensive accelerates German civilian flight
The Soviet Vistula–Oder and East Prussian offensives beginning in January 1945 brought the eastern front rapidly into territory with large civilian populations. German local authorities issued evacuation instructions unevenly, and columns of people fled on foot, by horse-drawn vehicle, by rail and by sea. Snow, fuel shortages and military traffic made movement increasingly difficult. Families who escaped the immediate advance reached towns already crowded with bombed-out residents and military evacuees. Some others remained and subsequently faced violence, compulsory labour or removal. The boundary between wartime flight and later expulsion cannot…
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