page_title: New Order (Nazism)
section_title: Re-settlement efforts
hierarchical_section_title: New Order (Nazism) / Implementation in Europe / Re-settlement efforts
caption_attribution_description: For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Nach dem Feldzug der 18 Tage begann die bisher großzügigste Umsiedlungsaktion der Weltgeschichte. Alle Volksgruppen, die Draußen ihre Aufgaben erfüllt haben, rief der Führer zurück in die Heimat ihrer Väter. Sie helfen jetzt mit beim Ausbau und der Festigung des großdeutschen Reiches. In besonderem Maße werden beim Aufbau des Warthegaues ihre kolonisatorischen Fähigkeiten wirksam werden.
context_page_description: The Neuordnung of Europe was the political order which Nazi Germany wanted to impose on the conquered areas under its dominion. The establishment of the Neuordnung had already begun long before the start of World War II, but was publicly proclaimed by Adolf Hitler in 1941:
  Das Jahr 1941 wird, dessen bin ich überzeugt, das geschichtliche Jahr einer großen Neuordnung Europas sein!
  The year 1941 will be, I am convinced, the historical year of a great European New Order.
  Among other things, it entailed the creation of a pan-German racial state structured according to Nazi ideology to ensure the supremacy of an Aryan-Nordic master race, massive territorial expansion into Central and Eastern Europe through its colonization with German settlers, the physical annihilation of the Jews, the Slavs, Roma and others considered to be "unworthy of life" and the extermination, expulsion or enslavement of most of the Slavic peoples and others regarded as "racially inferior". Nazi Germany's desire for aggressive territorial expansionism was one of the most important causes of World War II.
context_section_description: By 1942, Hitler's empire encompassed much of Europe, but the territories annexed lacked population desired by the Nazis. After Germany had acquired her Lebensraum, she now needed to populate these lands according to Nazi ideology and racial principles. This was to be accomplished before the end of the war by a "reordering of ethnographical relations". The initial step of this project had already been taken by Hitler on 7 October 1939, when Himmler was named the Reich Commissar for the Consolidation of Germandom (Reichskommissar für die Festigung deutschen Volkstums) (RKFDV) (see also Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle, VoMi) This position authorized Himmler to repatriate ethnic Germans (Volksdeutsche) living abroad to occupied Poland. Himmler's jurisdiction as the guardian of the Volksdeutsche re-settlement efforts was increased to other occupied territories to be Germanized as the war continued. To make room for the German settlers, hundreds of thousands of Poles and French living in these lands were transferred across borders. The great majority of Himmler's Volksdeutsche were acquired from the Soviet sphere of interest under the German–Soviet "population exchange" treaty.
  At the end of 1942 a total of 629,000 Volksdeutsche had been re-settled, and preparations for the transfer of 393,000 others were underway. The long-term goal of the VoMi was the resettlement of a further 5.4 million Volksdeutsche, mainly from Transylvania, Banat, France, Hungary and Romania. The immigrants were classified either as racially or politically unreliable (settled in Altreich), of high quality (settled in the annexed eastern territories) or suitable for transit camps. Himmler encountered considerable difficulties with the Volksdeutsche of France and Luxembourg, who often wished to retain their former status as citizens of their respective countries.
caption: A German map produced after the defeat of Poland in 1939 calling for German-descendant settlers in eastern Europe to return to the Warthegau
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