The Second World War's history is marked not only by unprecedented force, extermination policies, and destruction but also by the spatial uprooting of countless individuals. While the National Socialist policy of extermination and the acts of war came to an end with the capitulation of the Axis powers in 1945, the spatial uprooting of millions of people continued to have a significant impact on global history. In addition to micro-historical perspectives on the fates of the individual displaced persons (DP), interesting perspectives on this complex of issues also emerge from the perspective of national and transnational actors. Apart from central topics such as the care, accommodation and responsibility for the DPs, the question of global remigration in the form of resettlement and repatriation arose.
By the end of 1946, while many DPs were repatriated, numerous others could not return to their places of origin. The International Refugee Organization (IRO) managed their fates. Depending on demographic characteristics as well as spatial and temporal circumstances, this process varied for different subgroups. This group was largely dependent on the IRO and other international actors for their spatial mobility and supplies. From a source-technical perspective, this makes it possible to draw on a rich stock of micro- and macro-historical documents. The registration files of DPs that have applied to the IRO for "Care and Maintenance" (CM/1 files) form the basis of this. They not only allow DPs to be classified demographically based on the data collected but also their migration history from before displacement to resettlement to be traced in spatial and temporal detail.
The research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining exploratory network analysis, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and event modeling for analysis and modeling. The aim is to analyse the spatial and structural dynamics of the displacement and resettlement process of the "Last Million" from a temporal longitudinal and cross-sectional demographic perspective. The research interest is led by the following research questions:
• How does the displacement-resettlement process of the "Last Million" present itself in a spatio-temporal longitudinal, and demographic cross-section?
• To what extent is the heterogeneity of the "Last Million" with regard to the causes of their displacement also reflected in their temporal-spatial profiles of violence-induced migration?
• Which event-based causes, drivers, and influencing factors of violence-induced migration, and its consequences can be identified in a longitudinal temporal section on a macro- and micro-historical level?
The poster presents the research model and initial interim findings, including:
• Modeling people, places, and events: a source-based approach to capture microhistorical data in a relational geodatabase.
• Sample formation: A mixed approach of demographic-stratified, and proportional-spatial sampling.
• Microhistorical case studies: Insight into the range of the spectrum in terms of demographic profiles of DPs as well as causes and course of the process of displacement and resettlement.
In this regard, the project not only aims to contribute to DP- and migration studies from a historical perspective. Rather, through its mixed-methods approach, it contributes to understanding historical forms of mobility, spatial connections, and administrative networks in an intersectional way and their temporal dynamics.