Yes Ipflo, it is indeed a very difficult and emotive issue. I agree with you that the Benes Decrees were (and are) an abuse of human rights. Having said that, I don’t think Benes could have acted without the knowledge, agreement and support of the allies. Two of those allies (Britain and France) behaved in a shameful manner at the Munich conference in September 1938, and in spite of the fact that France had a defence pact with Czechoslovakia, the country was more or less handed over to Hitler. Had Chamberlain and Daladier NOT appeased Hitler at that stage it just MIGHT have prevented (or minimised) the Second World War. The Nazis committed awful atrocities in Czechoslovakia (think of Lidice) and while I can understand to some extent the reason behind the expulsion, obviously two wrongs don’t make a right and the brutality in the early days of the expulsion was, as I think Vaclav Havel said “not punishment, but revenge”. Ideally at that stage the real Nazis should have been identified and expelled and the other Sudeten Germans left alone. I agree with you that giving everything back now would not be a good and wise solution and almost impossible in practical terms, in addition to which, many of the Sudeten Germans received some form of financial compensation from the German state (the so-called “Lastenausgleich”). Indeed, as you say, most Sudeten Germans built a new life in Germany and elsewhere and probably would not rush to return to the villages of their ancestors on a permanent basis (although they often go there on holiday and look at their former homes). Equally, the people who live in those areas could not be moved, as it would be the same crime as before. However, I beg to disagree on one small point, namely that the Liechtensteins should be returned their property on the grounds that it was unjustly confiscated as they are not Germans (although German speaking). Ironically, the Sudeten Germans, although German speaking, were not technically Germans either until the end of 1938, but Czechoslovak and before that Austrian. As you probably guessed, I am from a Sudeten German family myself, and although 60 years and two generations have passed, we still feel “different” and have a strong affinity with the Czech Republic. My son (now 16 years old and not particularly interested in history) surprised me last year when he stated on a visit to Prague “I really don’t know what nationality I am. Am I Irish (he was born in Dublin), German, Czech, Moravian (his grandparents were from the Zwittau/Svitavy area of Moravia) or Austrian?” At any rate, I feel that from a Sudeten German perspective, any attempt to dismantle the Benes Decrees and make exceptions is unfair.
The situation with Konopiste is different, as the law in question is that by which property belonging to the Habsburgs was confiscated in 1918, and of course as the Grand daughter of Sophie Gräfin Nostitz-Rieneck (thus the Great granddaughter of Archduke Franz-Ferdinand) claims, the Hohenbergs were not considered a part of the ruling family after the assassination in Sarajevo and thus the confiscation of their property was unfair.
It’s all very complex and confusing, although on the other hand, I don’t know how any private individual (apart from perhaps the super rich, such as the Liechtensteins) could afford the maintain such huge properties. The costs must be staggering. I saw on a TV programme recently that Germans whose parents had been expelled from Poland after the war have recently returned and bought back their former property (a small manor house which had become a ruin) and are now in the process of renovating it. Oh dear, I do hope I have not digressed too far…apologies if so.
