„My, wypędzeni ze stron ojczystych, rezygnujemy z zemsty i odwetu” – stuttgarcka Karta z 5–6 sierpnia 1950 roku jako dokument historyczny

Abstrakt

German politicians, including those performing the office of Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, have highly appreciated and continue to appreciate the Charter of the German Expellees. While the Charter is of crucial importance for the Federation of Expellees, there are, nevertheless, no scholarly analyses of how it came into being. The author describes how the German expellee organisations were formed in the first years after the war, how the Charter of the German Expellees itself was written and adopted and what role it performed. It combined the right to a native land with the renouncement of vengeance and revenge and also had the unity of Europe as its objective. It constituted part of the FRG society’s self-perception as a community of victims. At the same time, it was a declaration of reconciliation, which made it possible for the Federation of Expellees to maintain the strong, political and social position that it continues to hold today. In the chain of initiatives aimed at reconciliation between Germany and its eastern neighbours, the Charter was an important link.