In 1946 he was expelled from his native Poland by the communist regime during the expulsion of Germans after World War II and came as a refugee to Stuttgart in West Germany, where he worked as a teacher and became active in politics for the Christian Democratic Union.

In the official propaganda of the Polish People's Republic, Czaja was portrayed as one of West Germany's most important politicians and his influence often exaggerated.

Herbert Czaja was born in Teschen (Cieszyn) in Austria-Hungary to a bilingual family of Polish, Czech and German origin.

His father Albert Czaja was a respected notary who was fluent in Polish, German and Czech;[1] his mother was Louise née Smekal.

He continued to be involved in anti-Nazi activities, but fearing prosecution for treason and upon the advice of a friend, he volunteered for the Wehrmacht in 1942 to get away from Silesia, serving until he was severely wounded in early 1945.

[1] When Czaja returned to Cieszyn, his parents' home had been destroyed, communists had taken control over Poland and the situation of ethnic Germans in Silesia was dire.

Under the circumstances of ethnic persecution of the group he felt most attached to and a communist dictatorship now in place in Poland, Czaja was unwilling to declare Polish nationality.

Shortly after in 1946, Czaja was expelled by the Polish People's Republic authorities during the expulsion of Germans after World War II.

After the end of the Cold War, he was active in Polish-German reconciliation efforts in the 1990s, and worked as an adviser for the authorities of Opole Voivodeship in modern Poland.

Czaja explicitly called for a Centre against Expulsions in Berlin to be established by Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic in a joint effort to promote peace and reconciliation.