Vyprávěná migrace. Vzpomínky na poválečnou nucenou migraci německy hovořících obyvatel z českých zemí
Narrated Migration. Memories of the Post-War Forced Migration of German-speaking Inhabitants from the Czech Lands

Summary/Abstract: The study focuses on the forced displacement of the German population from the Czech lands between May 1945 and the end of 1946, which meant the departure of almost three million Germans. This migration had a profound impact both on the lives of the individuals who participated in it and on German society. Forced migration after the Second World War is not only an integral part of the communicative memory of many Germans, but also a part of cultural memory and the subject of politics of memory today. In this study, we draw on oral history interviews with the so-called ‘Erlebnisgeneration’, i.e. persons who experienced forced displacement as children or young adults. The object of the analysis are narratives related to forced displacement; we ask in what ways this migration is narrated, what narrative strategies and means individual narrators choose when they talk about this event, and whether they create certain narrative patterns. Our focus is on the themes, structures, and intentions of the narrative representations of ‘expulsion’. We attempt to show how male and female narrators deal with the traumatic experience and how they attempt to integrate and gain recognition from others. We observe these issues in the context of theories of collective trauma and are inspired by the analytical approach of grounded theory.

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