Along with the native German civilians, as well as the Volksdeutsche from the east (i.e. the German-speakers) were evacuated or fled.[6][7] Most of the affected Volksdeutsche had settled into occupied Poland before March 1944.[8] They took up farms and homes of Poles forcibly removed (or executed) during the ethnic cleansing operations in the preceding years.[6] Meanwhile, the number of returning Reich Germans who had fled eastward temporarily in fear of the British and American bombings in the centre of Germany is also estimated between 825,000 [9][10] and 1,134,000.[6]