The Nazi “Heim ins Reich” Programme from Lands of Oversea Migration and German Deportees from Canada and the United States

Josef Lainck was a German national; he emigrated to Canada on July 6, 1927. In Canada, he committed numerous crimes and was deported to the Third Reich in 1938. Throughout the 1930s, deportations were used to rid Canada of the lazy, the unemployable, the deviant and all troublemakers. This coincided with Nazi Germany encouraging German emigres to instigate their deportation as a cheap and efficient method of return migration. In this way, desirable German-Aryan labour could return and help alleviate labour shortages at home. It was because deportations were an essential part of the Nazi return migration programme that the deportation of criminal elements from lands of immigration to Germany was not prevented. Josef Lainck’s historical account is relevant because it documents the fate of a German emigrant, gives information on the deportation process to the Third Reich from Canada, provides details on the Nazi return migration programme and gives testimony how individuals labelled criminals were treated by German Fascist authorities.