German NOUN C1 Rank 17058

der Vertriebene

expellee

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Meanings

der Vertriebene

expellee

A person who was forced to leave their homeland because of war, ethnic cleansing, or political persecution. In Germany, the term is used historically above all for the German population groups who were expelled after the Second World War from the former eastern German territories and other parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe.

EXAMPLE

Mein Großvater war ein Vertriebener aus Schlesien und musste nach dem Krieg eine neue Heimat finden.

My grandfather was an expellee from Silesia and had to find a new home after the war.

Usage tips

Word structure

'Der Vertriebene' (the expellee) is a nominalized participle. It comes from the verb 'vertreiben' (to force someone to leave their homeland). Literally, it therefore means 'eine Person, die vertrieben wurde' (a person who was expelled).

EXAMPLE

Die Armee hat die feindlichen Truppen aus der Stadt vertrieben.

The army drove the enemy troops out of the city.

Adjective declension

Since this noun was formed from a participle, it is declined like an adjective. Pay attention to the endings: 'ein Vertriebener' (a male expellee; masculine, nominative), 'die Vertriebene' (the female expellee; feminine, nominative), 'die Vertriebenen' (the expellees; plural).

EXAMPLE

Er sprach mit einem Vertriebenen über dessen Geschichte.

He spoke with an expellee about his story.

Historical context

In German usage, the term is very closely linked to the history after the Second World War. It primarily refers to Germans who had to flee from the former eastern German territories and other parts of Eastern Europe or were expelled from them.

EXAMPLE

Der „Bund der Vertriebenen“ ist eine Organisation, die ihre Interessen vertritt.

The 'Bund der Vertriebenen' (Federation of Expellees) is an organization that represents their interests.

Compare with

Flüchtling

confusable

Vertriebene vs Flüchtling

refugee

Flüchtling emphasizes that a person is fleeing war, persecution, or a disaster. Vertriebener, by contrast, emphasizes that the person was forced to leave their home, for example through deliberate expulsion; in Germany, the word also has a particular historical use.

Vertriebene

Als Soldaten die Bewohner zum Verlassen des Ortes zwangen, kam der Mann als Vertriebener ins Nachbarland.

When soldiers forced the residents to leave the town, the man arrived in the neighboring country as an expellee.

Flüchtling

Als die Kämpfe begannen, floh der Mann und kam als Flüchtling ins Nachbarland.

When the fighting began, the man fled and arrived in the neighboring country as a refugee.

Open full word page: Flüchtling

In real life

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