Andreas Kossert places the refugee movement of the early 21st century in a wide historical context. Always hewing closely to individual fates, Kossert shows the kinds of existential experiences of uprooting and hostility that accompany the loss of one’s homeland. Whether they have fled from East Prussia, Syria or India, refugees are active participants in world history.

Those who flee lose their homes, possessions, long-established social contacts and, to a certain extent, control over their own lives. Refugees share this experience, they are familiar with the difficulties of starting over and the reservations of “those who have always been there”, which are fed by the fear that they could lose as much as those who have fled. The historian Andreas Kossert has immersed himself in the perspective of refugees. He has collected their stories from pre-modern times to the present, gathering not only historical sources but also touching first-hand literary testimonies. This great work is characterised by empathy, a sense of style, perseverance and a calm view of the current debates on emigration and immigration.

Andreas Kossert, born in 1970, studied history, political science and Slavonic studies in Germany, Scotland and Poland and has a PhD in history. He received an enthusiastic response to his historical depictions of Masuria and East Prussia. Most recently, he published the bestseller “Cold Home. The Story of German Expellees after 1945” and “In Those Days in East Prussia”. He was awarded the Georg Dehio Book Prize for his work.