Geldern ( Dutch : Gelderen , archaic English: Guelder(s) ) is a city in the federal German state of North Rhine-Westphalia . It is part of the district of Kleve , which is part of the Düsseldorf administrative region . The nearby Dutch province of Gelderland is named after this city.
66-710: Geller ( / ˈ ɡ ɛ l ər / GHEL -ər ) is a surname. Depending on one's ancestors' origins, the name may derive from a place name ( Geldern in Germany or Gelderland in the Netherlands ) or the German word gellen ('to yell'; Middle High German geln , gëllen ) meaning 'one who yells'; less probably from the Yiddish word gel ('yellow') meaning the 'yellow man', or the Yiddish word geler , an expression for
132-545: A street painting contest, which attracts international artists. Geldern has the largest Whitsun (Pentecost) funfair of the lower Rhine, a street party in summer, and a Christmas Market . Several other events are organized in summer. Geldern is served by two nearby airports Weeze Airport (19 km) and Düsseldorf Airport (55 km). The international airport in Amsterdam is 180 km or about 2 hours by auto. The Deutsche Bahn railway station of Geldern lies on
198-543: A final German peace treaty. This treaty was expected to confirm the shifting westward of Poland's borders, as the United Kingdom and United States committed themselves to support the permanent incorporation of eastern Germany into Poland and the Soviet Union. From March 1945 to July 1945, these former eastern territories of Germany had been administered under Soviet military occupation authorities, but following
264-640: A fire-breathing dragon around 878. They found it under a medlar tree, and one of them stabbed it with his spear . The dying dragon rattled two or three times: Gelre! Gelre! In commemoration of this heroic feat, the Lords of Pont founded the city of Geldern at the confluence of the Niers and the Fleuth. The city of Geldern was first documented around 900. Several versions of the name have been used: Gelre, Gielra, Gellero, Gelera and similar. The probable ancestor of
330-542: A never completed canal from the Rhine near Rheinberg to the Meuse near Venlo . Hiking is possible around the former Schloss Haag , part of which still remains, and is home to Golfclub Schloss Haag e.V. There is a mill tower and the refectory of the 16th century former monastery of Augustinian nuns. There are some wind mills in the vicinity, including one within 1 km of Geldern-Kapellen. Every summer Geldern hosts
396-497: A punitive approach championed by Roosevelt 's Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Morgenthau Jr. (the " Morgenthau Plan "). Under this plan, Germany would have been broken into four autonomous states and not only demilitarized but also deindustrialized to the point of becoming chiefly agrarian. The Morgenthau plan was opposed by Secretary of State Cordell Hull and War Secretary Henry L. Stimson , and Roosevelt distanced himself from
462-461: A redheaded man. It may also be a Russianized respelling of Heller or a variant of the Hungarian first name Gellért . The name appears with some frequency in northwestern Germany , near the city of Aachen . The following people have the last name Geller : The following fictional characters also have the last name Geller : Geller may also refer to: Geldern Geldern lies in
528-551: A wedding gift in 1107. The counts of Guelders moved their residence to the castle in Geldern, that was built probably around this date at the crossing of the Niers. The castle and the accompanying medieval settlement were the origin of the present city, and also gave its name to the county and later duchy of Guelders . The settlement was fortified in the 13th century with earth and stone walls and moats. The walls were named after
594-580: A whole' in respect of West Germany and Berlin. At the same time, East Germany progressed from being a satellite state of the Soviet Union to increasing independence of action; while still deferring in matters of security to Soviet authority. The provisions of the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany , also known as the "Two-plus-Four Treaty", granting full sovereign powers to Germany did not become law until 15 March 1991, after all of
660-460: Is subdivided into the following boroughs : Geldern shares borders with Kevelaer and Sonsbeck to the north, Issum to the east, Kerken and Straelen to the south, and the Dutch municipalities Venlo and Bergen to the west. The first coat of arms of the city of Geldern was a shield with three medlars , referring to an event in the dragon legend. The lion of Guelders , recognizable in
726-572: The Allied Control Council (ACC). At first, Allied-occupied Germany was defined as all territories of Germany before the 1938 Nazi annexation of Austria . The Potsdam Agreement on 2 August 1945 defined the new eastern German border by giving Poland and the Soviet Union all regions of Germany east of the Oder–Neisse line (eastern parts of Pomerania , Neumark , Posen-West Prussia , East-Prussia and most of Silesia ) and divided
SECTION 10
#1732790340877792-599: The Allied Control Council de facto broke down on 20 March 1948 ( restored on 3 September 1971) in the context of growing tensions between the Allies, with Britain and the US wishing cooperation, France obstructing any collaboration in order to partition Germany into many independent states, and especially: the Soviet Union unilaterally implementing from early on elements of a Marxist political-economic system (enforced redistribution of land, nationalisation of businesses). Another dispute
858-617: The Allies of World War II , from the Berlin Declaration on 5 June 1945 to the establishment of West Germany on 23 May 1949. Unlike occupied Japan , Nazi Germany was stripped of its sovereignty and former state : after Germany formally surrendered on 8 May 1945, the four countries representing the Allies (the United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France) asserted joint authority and sovereignty through
924-703: The French Army . In April and May 1945, the French 1st Army had captured Karlsruhe and Stuttgart , and conquered a territory extending to Hitler's Eagle's Nest and the westernmost part of Austria. In July, the French relinquished Stuttgart to the Americans, and in exchange were given control over cities west of the Rhine such as Mainz and Koblenz . All this resulted in two barely contiguous areas of Germany along
990-652: The General Treaty (German: Deutschlandvertrag ) entered into force. However, upon the creation of the Federal Republic in May 1949, the military governors were replaced by civilian high commissioners , whose powers lay somewhere between those of a governor and those of an ambassador. When the Deutschlandvertrag became law, the occupation ended, the western occupation zones ceased to exist, and
1056-676: The War of the Spanish Succession took place. The city was under Prussian siege beginning February 1703, but only surrendered on 21 December. At the end of the war, at the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht , the previously Spanish Upper Quarter of Guelders was divided between four powers: Austria , the United Provinces , Prussia and the Duchy of Jülich . With the larger part of the former Upper Quarter, Geldern fell to Prussia and became
1122-523: The British implemented government modeled on the UK system, placing heavy emphasis on local level democracy. The goal was to create a British-style administration with employees who viewed themselves as public servants, on the basis that this would help to reeducate Germans to democratic modes of thought. To that end the British introduced new local government structures, including a nonpolitical position similar to
1188-597: The Counts of Guelders was Gerhard Flamens, who received Wassenberg as a fief from Emperor Henry II in 1020. His great-grandson Gerhard IV of Wassenberg was the first to call himself Count of Guelders (as Gerhard I), from 1096. The title "count" came from other properties, probably in Teisterbant . From 1125 only the title of Guelders was used. Wassenberg itself was given to the Duke of Limburg (and later to Jülich ) as
1254-480: The English town clerk ("city director") that replaced the office of mayor. In general, the British believed strongly in reeducation as a means to achieve democracy, which led them to prioritize the reestablishment of schooling and university education in their zone. The French were less concerned with improving Germany's moral and civic character, focusing instead on ensuring France's future security and utilizing
1320-673: The French border which met at just a single point along the River Rhine . Three German states ( Land ) were established: Rheinland Pfalz in the north and west and on the other hand Württemberg-Hohenzollern and South Baden , who later formed Baden-Württemberg together with Württemberg-Baden of the American zone. The French zone of occupation included the Saargebiet , which was disentangled from it on 16 February 1946. By 18 December 1946 customs controls were established between
1386-404: The French occupation zone, was separated from Allied-occupied Germany to become a French protectorate with its constitution took effect on 17 December 1947, however the separation was opposed by the Soviet Union and Germans here were not expelled. In October 1946, the population of the various zones and sectors was as follows: The original Allied plan to govern Germany as a single unit through
SECTION 20
#17327903408771452-463: The French zone) and Hesse (without Rhenish Hesse and Montabaur Region , both part of the French zone) with a new capital in Wiesbaden , and of northern parts of Württemberg and Baden . Those formed Württemberg-Baden and became northern portions of the present-day German state of Baden-Württemberg founded in 1952. The ports of Bremen (on the lower Weser River ) and Bremerhaven (at
1518-469: The French zone, let alone into the separated Saar protectorate. However, the native population, returning after Nazi-imposed removals (e.g., political and Jewish refugees) and war-related relocations (e.g., evacuation from air raids), were allowed to return home in the areas under French control. The other Allies complained that they had to shoulder the burden to feed, house and clothe the expellees who had to leave their belongings behind. In practice, each of
1584-716: The GDR declared it its capital (Hauptstadt der DDR). Allied aims with respect to postwar Germany were first laid out at the Yalta Conference , where Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin signed an agreement stating that they intended to: disarm and disband the German armed forces ; break up the German General Staff ; remove or destroy all German military equipment; eliminate or control German industry that could be used for military production; punish war criminals; exact reparations for damage done by Germany; wipe out
1650-543: The GDR established a military, the National People's Army (NVA). Despite the grants of general sovereignty to both German states in 1955, full and unrestricted sovereignty under international law was not enjoyed by any German government until after the reunification of Germany in October 1990. Though West Germany was effectively independent, the western Allies maintained limited legal jurisdiction over 'Germany as
1716-682: The German surrender, leaving Northern Germany to be occupied by the British. The British Army of the Rhine was formed on 25 August 1945 from the British Liberation Army . In July the British withdrew from Mecklenburg 's capital Schwerin which they had taken over from the Americans a few weeks before, as it had previously been agreed to be occupied by the Soviet Army . The Control Commission for Germany (British Element) (CCG/BE) ceded more slices of its area of occupation to
1782-612: The Nazi government in 1937. The British also created the new German states of: Also in 1947, the American zone of occupation being inland had no port facilities – thus the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and Bremerhaven became exclaves within the British zone. At the end of October 1946, the British zone had a population of: The British headquarters were originally based in Bad Oeynhausen from 1946, but in 1954 it
1848-476: The Nazi party and its institutions; remove all Nazi and militarist influences from public life; and take any other measures in Germany as might be necessary to ensure future peace and safety. The consensus among the Allies was that it was necessary to ensure Germany could not cause further world wars, but beyond that their opinion on what Germany's future should look like differed. The US originally considered
1914-532: The Potsdam Agreement they were handed over to Soviet and Polish civilian administrations and ceased to constitute part of Allied-occupied Germany. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, United States forces had pushed beyond the agreed boundaries for the future zones of occupation, in some places by as much as 320 km (200 miles). The so-called line of contact between Soviet and U.S. forces at
1980-573: The Saar area and Allied-occupied Germany. The French zone ceded further areas adjacent to the Saar (in mid-1946, early 1947, and early 1949). Included in the French zone was the town of Büsingen am Hochrhein , a German exclave separated from the rest of the country by a narrow strip of neutral Swiss territory. The Swiss government agreed to allow limited numbers of French troops to pass through its territory in order to maintain law and order in Büsingen. At
2046-408: The Saar region, fusing it with France in a customs and currency union and encouraging the development of export industries. As a result, the French managed to extract a surplus from their occupation zone, and prevented it from becoming a financial liability the way the British and American zones were to their respective occupying powers. Soviet aims in Germany were similar to those of the French, with
Geller - Misplaced Pages Continue
2112-590: The September 1990 Peace Treaty) the northern portion of East Prussia became the Kaliningrad Oblast within the Soviet Union (today Russian Federation ). A small area west of the Oder, near Szczecin , also fell to Poland. Most German citizens residing in these areas were subsequently expropriated and expelled . Returning refugees, who had fled from war hostilities, were denied return. Saarland, an area in
2178-665: The Soviet Union – specifically the Amt Neuhaus of Hanover and some exclaves and fringes of Brunswick , for example the County of Blankenburg , and exchanged some villages between British Holstein and Soviet Mecklenburg under the Barber-Lyashchenko Agreement . Within the British zone of occupation, the CCG/BE re-established the city of Hamburg as a German state , but with borders that had been drawn by
2244-728: The Soviet imposition of the Berlin Blockade that was enforced from June 1948 to May 1949. The three western zones were merged to form the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) i.e. West Germany in May 1949, and after that the Soviets followed suit in October 1949 with the establishment of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) i.e. East Germany. In the west, the occupation continued until 5 May 1955, when
2310-1071: The Weser estuary of the North Sea ) were also placed under U.S. control because of the U.S. request to have certain toeholds in Northern Germany . At the end of October 1946, the American zone had a population of: The headquarters of the American military government was the former IG Farben Building in Frankfurt am Main . Following the complete closure of all Nazi German media, the launch and operation of completely new newspaper titles began by licensing carefully selected Germans as publishers. Licenses were granted to Germans not involved in Nazi propaganda to establish those newspapers, including Frankfurter Rundschau (August 1945), Der Tagesspiegel (Berlin; September 1945), and Süddeutsche Zeitung (Munich; October 1945). Radio stations were run by
2376-436: The battlefield of territorial disputes. It was subordinate to Spanish rule from 1543 until 1578, when it was occupied by the Dutch . Geldern returned to Spanish control in 1587, which lasted until 1703. During this period (more exactly between 1662 and 1664) Schloss Haag (first documented in 1337, located 1 km north of Geldern) was expanded. (Since World War II only the outer castle has remained.) From 1701 until 1714
2442-625: The département of the Roer . In 1802 the monastery of the Carmelites was secularized . In the course of the Prussian reorganization of administration, the district of Geldern was formed on 23 April 1816. It was one of over 40 rural districts of the Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg , the northern half of the later Rhine Province . In 1863 the railway line Cologne – Krefeld – Geldern – Cleves
2508-644: The end of October 1946, the French zone had a population of: (The Saar Protectorate had a further 0.8 million.) From November 1945, Luxembourg was allocated a zone within the French sector. The Luxembourg 2nd Infantry Battalion was garrisoned in Bitburg and the 1st Battalion was sent to Saarburg . The final Luxembourg forces in Germany, in Bitburg, left in 1955. The Soviet occupation zone incorporated Thuringia , Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt , Brandenburg and Mecklenburg . The Soviet Military Administration
2574-556: The end of hostilities, mostly lying eastward of the July 1945-established inner German border , was temporary. After two months during which they held areas that had been assigned to the Soviet zone, U.S. forces withdrew in the first days of July 1945. Some have concluded that this was a crucial move which persuaded the Soviet Union to allow American, British and French forces into their designated sectors in Berlin, which occurred at roughly
2640-536: The four cardinal directions and had three gates. Geldern received city rights in 1229. It was the residence of the counts and dukes of Guelders until 1343, and capital of the Upper Quarter of Guelders until 1347. The monastery of the Carmelites was built in the early 14th century. The Late Gothic parish church of Mary Magdalene was built between 1400 and 1418. Often in its history, Geldern lay in
2706-596: The four occupying powers wielded government authority in their respective zones and carried out different policies toward the population and local and state governments there. A uniform administration of the western zones evolved, known first as the Bizone (the American and British zones merged as of 1 January 1947) and later the Trizone (after inclusion of the French zone). The complete breakdown of east–west allied cooperation and joint administration in Germany became clear with
Geller - Misplaced Pages Continue
2772-703: The high commissioners were replaced by normal ambassadors. West Germany was also allowed to build a military, and the Bundeswehr , or Federal Defense Force, was established on 12 November 1955. A similar situation occurred in East Germany. The GDR was founded on 7 October 1949. On 10 October the Soviet Military Administration in Germany was replaced by the Soviet Control Commission , although limited sovereignty
2838-648: The idea after it was reported on by major American newspapers. Ultimately, US occupation policy came to be determined chiefly by the War Department , with long-term objectives summed up by the four Ds : denazification , democratization , demilitarization , and decentralization (or decartelization ) . Initially, the US was extremely rigorous in its efforts to prevent fraternization with German civilians. US soldiers were forbidden to shake hands with Germans, visit their homes, play games or sports with them, exchange gifts, take part in social events, or walk in
2904-414: The line from Cleves to Düsseldorf via Krefeld . There are two trains per hour. Buses are used for public transport in the city and the surrounding area. Geldern is connected to the German Autobahns: motorways A40 ( E 34 ) and A57 ( E 31 ) by the federal roads B9 and B58 . Geldern is twinned with: Allied-occupied Germany The entirety of Germany was occupied and administered by
2970-437: The military government. Later, Radio Frankfurt , Radio München (Munich) and Radio Stuttgart gave way for the Hessischer Rundfunk , Bayerischer Rundfunk , and Süddeutscher Rundfunk , respectively. The RIAS in West-Berlin remained a radio station under U.S. control. By May 1945 the British and Canadian Armies had liberated the Netherlands and had conquered Northern Germany. The Canadian forces went home following
3036-433: The negotiation of the Bonn–Paris conventions during 1951–1952, which terminated the occupation and prepared the way for the rearmament of West Germany. Army units from other countries were stationed within the British occupation zone. The French Republic was at first not granted an occupation zone in Germany, but the British and American governments later agreed to cede some western parts of their zones of occupation to
3102-467: The participating governments had ratified the treaty. As envisaged by the Treaty, the last occupation troops departed from Germany when the Russian presence was terminated in 1994, although the Belgian Forces in Germany stayed in German territory until the end of 2005. A 1956 plebiscite ended the French administration of the Saar protectorate, and it joined the Federal Republic as Saarland on 1 January 1957, becoming its tenth state. The city of Berlin
3168-401: The plains of the lower, northern Rhineland , west of the Rhine . Its average elevation is 27 m AMSL . The river Niers , a tributary of the Meuse ( Maas ), flows through Geldern. The stream Gelderner Fleuth flows into the Niers in Geldern. It is close to both Düsseldorf Airport and Airport Weeze , also called Airport Niederrhein (referring to the Lower Rhine region). Geldern
3234-1194: The present coat of arms, has been used since the Middle Ages . Francia 812–843 Middle Francia 843–855 Kingdom of Lotharingia 855–959 [REDACTED] Duchy of Lower Lorraine 959–ca. 1096 [REDACTED] County of Guelders ca. 1096–1339 [REDACTED] Duchy of Guelders 1339–1393 [REDACTED] Duchy of Jülich 1393–1423 [REDACTED] Duchy of Guelders 1423–1543 [REDACTED] Habsburg Netherlands 1543–1556 [REDACTED] Spanish Netherlands 1556–1578 [REDACTED] Dutch Republic 1578–1587 [REDACTED] Spanish Netherlands 1587–1713 [REDACTED] Kingdom of Prussia 1713–1794 [REDACTED] French Republic 1794–1804 [REDACTED] French Empire 1804–1814 [REDACTED] Kingdom of Prussia 1815–1871 [REDACTED] German Empire 1871–1918 [REDACTED] Weimar Republic 1919–1933 [REDACTED] Nazi Germany 1933–1945 [REDACTED] Allied-occupied Germany 1945–1949 [REDACTED] West Germany 1949–1990 [REDACTED] Germany 1990–present According to folk legend, local noblemen Wichard and Lupold of Pont fought
3300-450: The primary goals being to prevent future aggression by Germany and to extract reparations. Political activity in the Soviet occupation zone was overseen by the Soviet Military Administration (SMAD), which maintained close control over the Germans and allowed little room for independent action on the part of local German officials. Key posts in local administration, particularly those dealing with security members, were given to members of
3366-421: The remaining "Germany as a whole" into four occupation zones, each administered by one of the Allies. All territories annexed by Germany before the war from Austria and Czechoslovakia were returned to these countries. The Memel Territory , annexed by Germany from Lithuania before the war, was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1945 and transferred to the Lithuanian SSR . All territories annexed by Germany during
SECTION 50
#17327903408773432-450: The resources of their occupation zone to facilitate economic recovery within France itself. Since one of their key goals was to ensure that Germany would never again be in a position to threaten France, the French were strongly opposed to a unified approach to occupation, and favored political structures that were as decentralized as possible. On the economic front, the French seized the opportunity to extract coal and steel resources from
3498-429: The rest of Germany – this included the Soviet sector of Berlin, which was legally separate from the rest of the Soviet zone. At the end of October 1946, Berlin had a population of: In 1945 Germany east of the Oder–Neisse line was assigned to Poland by the Potsdam Conference to be "temporarily administered" pending the Final Peace Treaty on Germany between the four Allies and a future German state; eventually (under
3564-427: The same time; the need for intelligence gathering ( Operation Paperclip ) may also have been a factor. On 20 March 1948, the Soviets withdrew from the Allied Control Council. The split led to the establishment in 1949 of two new German states, West Germany and East Germany . The American zone in Southern Germany consisted of Bavaria (without the Rhine Palatinate Region and the Lindau District , both part of
3630-404: The seat of administration of Prussian Guelders . King Frederick II of Prussia visited Geldern in August 1740. He ordered the demolition of the city fortifications in 1764. Between 1794 and 1814 Geldern was occupied by the French . They disbanded the old structures and created a new, more strict administration. The canton of Geldern was part of the arrondissement of Cleves , which was a part of
3696-403: The streets with them. How strictly this policy was applied varied from place to place, but in many places the restrictions were frequently ignored, as a result of which the policy was quickly abandoned. Germans were also prohibited from inhabiting any part of a building in which US soldiers were housed, leading to large numbers of Germans being ejected from their homes. British occupation policy
3762-411: The territorial reorganization of North Rhine-Westphalia , on 1 July 1969. The municipalities of Kapellen, Vernum, Pont, Veert and Walbeck were incorporated into Geldern. On 1 January 1975 the former districts of Cleves and Geldern and parts of the districts of Moers and Rees were merged to form the new district of Cleves . There is an approx. 60 km long cycle path along the Fossa Eugeniana ,
3828-418: The war from Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland and Yugoslavia were returned to their respective countries. Deviating from the occupation zones planned according to the London Protocol in 1944 , at Potsdam, the United States, United Kingdom and the Soviet Union approved the detachment from Germany of the territories east of the Oder–Neisse line , with the exact line of the boundary to be determined in
3894-534: Was headquartered in Berlin-Karlshorst , which also came to house the chief rezidentura of Soviet intelligence in Germany. At the end of October 1946, the Soviet zone had a population of: While located wholly within the Soviet zone, because of its symbolic importance as the nation's capital and seat of the former Nazi government, the city of Berlin was jointly occupied by the Allied powers and subdivided into four sectors. All four occupying powers were entitled to privileges throughout Berlin that were not extended to
3960-451: Was moved to Mönchengladbach where it was known as JHQ Rheindahlen . Another special feature of the British zone was the enclave of Bonn . It was created in July 1949 and was not under British or any other allied control. Instead it was under the control of the Allied High Commission . In June 1950, Ivone Kirkpatrick became the British High Commissioner for Germany . Kirkpatrick carried immense responsibility particularly with respect to
4026-443: Was not granted to the GDR government until 11 November 1949. After the death of Joseph Stalin in March 1953, the Soviet Control Commission was replaced with the office of the Soviet High Commissioner on 28 May 1953. This office was abolished (and replaced by an ambassador) and (general) sovereignty was granted to the GDR, when the Soviet Union concluded a state treaty (Staatsvertrag) with the GDR on 20 September 1955. On 1 March 1956,
SECTION 60
#17327903408774092-418: Was not part of either state and de jure continued to be under Allied occupation of the four countries until the reunification of Germany in October 1990. For administrative purposes, the three western sectors of Berlin were merged into the entity of West Berlin being de facto part of the FRG. The Soviet sector became known as East Berlin and while not recognised by the Western powers as a part of East Germany,
4158-416: Was opened, and a narrow-gauge local line in 1902 (closed in 1932). In World War II Geldern was bombed several times, at the end of 1944 and on 14 February 1945, which led to devastation in the city centre. Only a few houses were saved, about 82% was destroyed. The parish church was also severely damaged, and the main building of Schloss Haag was completely destroyed. The parish church of Mary Magdalene
4224-412: Was rebuilt in 1952, and redecorated in 2003/2004. The population of Geldern is mostly Roman Catholic . There are several Catholic churches, including the historically important parish church of Mary Magdalene on the market square. There are two Protestant churches: the Holy Spirit church near the market, and one in the borough of Walbeck. The present composition of the city of Geldern was created at
4290-423: Was similar to that of the United States, but with a greater focus on economic problems. The British Occupation Zone included the Ruhr industrial region, which had experienced the heaviest bombing and therefore faced the greatest shortages of housing and food. Initial British occupation directives were concerned primarily with economic considerations and food supply. To further the long-term aim of democratization,
4356-652: Was the absorption of post-war expellees. While the UK, the US and the Soviet Union had agreed to accept, house and feed about six million expelled German citizens from former eastern Germany and four million expelled and denaturalised Czechoslovaks , Poles, Hungarians and Yugoslavs of German ethnicity in their zones, France generally had not agreed to the expulsions approved by the Potsdam agreement (a decision made without input from France). Therefore, France strictly refused to absorb war refugees who were denied return to their homes in seized eastern German territories or destitute post-war expellees who had been expropriated there, into
#876123