Clergy already spiritualized the Heimat’s loss by mid-1946 to console departing congregations.

Evidence

In a i nal sermon to his long-suffering Breslau congregation on June 30, 1946, Joachim Konrad cited Hebrews 13:14 to afi rm that, as they took leave ( Abschied ) from their beloved church of St. Elizabeth, they anchored themselves in God’s will, even if this meant losing their precious (but transient) Heimat . — Andrew Demshuk, The Lost German East, 897

Categorization

• XREF: Timeline datum for reader: the theological turn away from physical Heimat appears within a year of expulsion, very early — relevant to questions of when threat-based solidarity decays. — connects to: Privation in exile intensified idealized retrospection on the lost Heimat. — Andrew Demshuk, The Lost German East: Forced Migration…, 778; Pastors’ own recognition of Heimat’s transformation pushed expellees toward Western integration. — Andrew Demshuk, The Lost German East: Forced Migration…, 856