The first repatriates came from the fields of politics and science. Many of them had emphatically viewed their exile as temporary and now wanted to be part of the political and cultural reconstruction of Germany. They played a significant role in post-war society.

For many who had come to regard their host country as a new or second home, the question of whether or not to return was difficult and oppressive. Was it conceivable to return to the "land of perpetrators"? With what aim and with whose help?

There has never been an official call for emigrants to return. Only a few returned permanently, sometimes years later, with reservations, or only for a limited time.