Volksdeutche from Lodz, Poland greeting Wehrmacht troops in 1939
The Volksdeutsche ("German race") was the Nazi Party's term for the German people living in and outside of Germany during the first half of the 20th century. Any ethnically-German people were regarded as volksdeutsche, with the Germans of the Sudetenland and German settlers along the Oder River being counted among them. Some non-Germanic ethnic groups such as Finns, Estonians, and Kashubians were considered to be volksdeutsche, as Adolf Hitler believed that they were capable of "Germanization" and "Aryanization". After World War II, most German minorities in neighboring countries were expelled to Germany, including Sudeten Germans, Prussians, and Silesians.