Children of World War II: The Hidden Enemy Legacy

There is a hidden legacy of war that is rarely talked about: the children of native civilians and enemy soldiers. What is their fate?This book unearths the history of the thousands of forgotten children of World War II, including its prelude and aftermath during the Spanish Civil War and the Allied occupation of Germany. It looks at liaisons between German soldiers and civilian women in the occupied territories, and the Nazi Lebensborn program of racial hygiene. It also considers the children of African-American soldiers and German women. The authors examine what happened when the foreign solders went home and discuss the policies adopted towards these children by the Nazi authorities as well as postwar national governments. Personal testimonies from the children themselves reveal the continued pain and shame of being children of the enemy.Case studies are taken from France, Germany, the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, Norway, Denmark and Spain.

Table of Contents:
Introduction * War, Cultural Loyalty and Gender: Danish women's Intimate Fraternisation--Anette Warring, University of Roskilde, Denmark * War Children: Foundlings of Europe?--Eva Simonsen, University of Oslo * Besatzungskinder and Wehrmachtskinder: Germany's War Children--Ebba Drolshagen, Freelance Journalist, Frankfurt. * Black German 'Occupation children': Objects of Study in the Continuity of German Race Anthropology--Yara-Colette Lemke Muniz de Faria, Institute for the History of Medicine, Berlin * Enfants de Boches: The War Children of France--Fabrice Virgili, CNRS, Paris * Life Stories of German-Norwegian war children--Kjersti Ericsson, University of Oslo, and Dag Ellingsen, Editor, Statistics Norway * Challenges for War Children in Denmark--Arne land, Freelance Writer, Frup, Denmark * Ideology and the Psychology of War Children in Franco's Spain--Michael Richards, University of the West of England * German Mother and Czech Father/Czech Mother and German Father - The Alchemy of Nationality and Collective Identity in Their Children--Michal Simunek, Charles University, Prague * Meant to be Deported Lars Borgersrud, University of Oslo * The Norwegian War Children and their Mothers: A summary of their History During the War and the First Postwar Period--Kre Olsen, National Archives of Norway * Stigma and Silence: Dutch Women, German Soldiers and their Children--Monika Diederichs, Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie (NIOD), Amsterdam * A Topic for Life: Women and Men Born in a German Lebensborn Home (Dorothee Schmitz-Kster, Freelance Writer, Bremen * Epilogue

About the Author :
Kjersti Ericsson is Professor of Criminology at the University of Oslo and Eva Simonsen is Researcher in Special Needs Education at the University of Oslo.

Review :
Breaking a long post-war taboo, this book broaches the subject of sexual intimacy between enemy soldiers and female civilians. It focuses especially on the stigma attached not only to the women but also the children born of such liaisons. This is essential reading for anyone interested in the wider impact of the Second World War and occupation on European societies. A subtle and moving account of the children left behind by the forces of occupation in the Second World War. This collection for the first time gives voice to children who were stigmatized as the forbidden fruit of collaboration and until now have had to live with shame and silence. It fulfills its aim of drawing attention to the experiences of these children and perhaps best serves as a springboard to prompt more research into their plight.