Children of war are those born to the original parents and parents of foreign military forces (usually occupation forces, but also military personnel stationed in military bases on foreign lands). Having children by members of aggressive forces, throughout history and across cultures, is often regarded as a betrayal of social values. Generally, genuine parents (usually women) are not recognized by family, friends, and society at large. The term "child of war" was most often used for children born during World War II and its consequences, especially in relation to children born to fathers in the German occupation forces in Northern Europe. In Norway, there are also children Lebensborn .
This is also applied to other situations, such as children born after the widespread rape during Bangladesh's 1971 atrocities associated with the liberation war. The discrimination suffered by parents and indigenous children in the postwar period does not account for the widespread rape by occupation forces, or the relationships that women must establish to survive from the war years.
The following article covers a wide range of issues in Norway during and after World War II.
Video War children
Discrimination
Children with parents who are part of an occupation force, or whose parents (s) collaborate with enemy forces, innocent of war crimes committed by parents. But these children are often criticized by the offspring of the enemy and discriminated against in their communities. They also suffered ties with parents whose war crimes were demanded in the postwar years. Since the children grow up to be teenagers and adults, many people are indebted to feelings of guilt and shame.
Examples are children born during and after World War II whose father was a military personnel in the Nazi-German occupied territory. These children claimed that they lived with their identity in exile in the late 1980s, when some of them formally recognized their status. In 1987, Bente Blehr rejected anonymity; an interview with him was published in Born Guilty, a collection of 12 interviews with people whose parents (s) have been linked to German forces in occupied Norway. The first autobiography by the son of a German occupation soldier and Norwegian mother was The Boy from Gimle (1993) by Eystein Eggen; he dedicates his book to all such children. It was published in Norway.
During and after the war, women who had volunteer relationships with military personnel from occupied forces have historically been criticized by their own communities. Women who are pregnant from such unions often take action to conceal the status of the father.
They usually choose between the following:
- Organize a wedding with a local man, who will be in charge of the child
- Claim that father is unknown, dead, or has gone, and take the child as a single mother
- Acknowledge the relationship; raising a child as a single mother
- Acknowledge the relationship; receiving the welfare of the occupation forces (see German Lebensborn)
- Put a child in an orphanage or give children for adoption
- Migrate to the occupation country and claim the identity
- Get an abortion
After the war, it is common for mothers and children to suffer the consequences of the local population. Such impacts are widespread throughout Europe. While some women and children suffer from torture and deportation, most of the action against them falls into one or more of the following categories:
- Nickname: German whore and the German child is a public label
- Isolation or harassment from local communities and schools
- Loss of work
- Shave the heads of mothers (often done immediately after the war) to identify and embarrass them publicly
- Temporary placement in the confinement camp or internment
While the widespread reaction soon after the war, sentiments to women and their children continued until the 1950s, 60s, and so on.
Maps War children
World War II wars kids
Estimates of the number of war children born to the German army during World War II are difficult to measure. Mothers tend to hide such pregnancies for fear of revenge and retaliation by male family members. The lower estimate ranges from hundreds of thousands, while the upper estimate is considerably increased, to millions.
Lebensborn Program
Lebensborn is one of several programs initiated by Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler to try to secure the racial heredity of the Third Reich. The program primarily serves as a welfare institution for parents and children who are perceived as racially, initially, SS people. When German forces occupied the countries of northern Europe, the organization expanded its programs to provide care to suitable women and children, particularly in Norway, where women were judged in accordance with Aryan.
In Norway, a local Lebensborn office, Abteilung Lebensborn , was established in 1941 to support the children of the German army and their Norwegian mother, in accordance with German law (Hitler Verordnung, 28 July, 1942). The organization runs several homes where pregnant women can give birth. The facility also serves as a permanent home for women who qualify until the end of the war. In addition, the organization pays child support on behalf of the father, and bears other costs, including medical bills, dental care and transportation.
In total, between 9 and 15 Lebensborn houses were established. Of the approximately 10,000-12,000 children born to Norwegian mothers and German fathers during the war, 8,000 were enrolled by Abteilung Lebensborn. In these 4,000 cases, the father is known. The women are encouraged to give children for adoption, and many are transferred to Germany, where they are adopted or raised in an orphanage.
During and after the war, the Norwegians used to call these children "tyskerunger", translated as "German children" or "Kraut children," a derogatory term. As a result of their subsequent admission of post-war persecution, more diplomatic terms krigsbarn (war-children) began to be used and now a generally accepted form.
Postwar years
When the war ended, their children and mothers were ostracized by many among the general population in previously occupied countries, when society was sad and resentful of war losses, and actively rejected all those connected with Germany. Their children and mothers are often socially isolated, and many children are harassed by other children, and sometimes by adults, because of their origin.
For example, immediately after peace, 14,000 women were arrested in Norway on suspicion of "collaboration" or connection with the enemy; 5,000, without any judicial process, was placed in a forced labor camp for a year and a half. Their heads were shaved, and they were beaten and raped. In an interview for Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, the war boys claimed that, while living in an orphanage in Bergen, they were forced as children paraded on the street so the locals could whip them and spit on them.
In a survey conducted by the Norwegian Ministry of Social Affairs in 1945, local authorities in one-third of the districts expressed unfavorable views about war children. In the same year, the Ministry of Social briefly explored the possibility of reuniting their children and mothers with fathers still alive in postwar Germany, but decided against it.
Five hundred children still being treated at the Lebensborn facility at the end of the war should leave when the houses are closed. Some children are left in state custody, during which time the treatment is marked by strict rules, insufficient education, and harassment. About 20 children ended up in a mental institution in 1946, due to lack of space in other institutions and unsuccessful adoption efforts. Some remain there past their 18th birthday.
Due to the prevailing political stance after the end of the war, the Norwegian government made a proposal to forcibly deport 8,000 children and their mothers to Germany, but there is concern that deportees will not have livelihoods there. Another option is to send them to Sweden. Australia was also considered after the Swedish government refused to accept these people; The Norwegian government later postponed the proposal.
Financial and legal issues
In 1950, diplomatic relations improved, so the Norwegian government could collect child support from identifed war child fathers who lived in West Germany and Austria. Since 1953 such payments have been made. The support of children from fathers living in East Germany was kept in locked accounts until diplomatic relations between the two countries was established in 1975.
Some war children have tried to get official recognition of past mistreatment. Proponents claim discrimination against them equated with genocide attempts. In December 1999, 122 war children filed a claim in a Norwegian court for the failure of the state to protect them as Norwegian citizens. The case was to test the limits of the law; seven people signed the claim. The court has ruled such clothing as null and void due to the laws of restriction.
Norwegian law allows citizens who have been subjected to neglect or persecution by the failure of the state to propose "simple compensation" (an arrangement not subject to restrictive legislation). In July 2004, the government expanded this compensation program to include children of war with less difficulty. The basic compensation rate is set to 20,000 NOK (EUR2,500/$ 3,000) for what the Norwegian government term "mobbing" (bullying). Those who can document other misappropriations can receive up to 200,000 NOK (25,000 EUR/$ 30,000).
On March 8, 2007, 158 war children had to be heard at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. They demanded reparations between 500,000 SEK (431,272 NOK) and 2,000,000 SEK (? 1,725,088 NOK) each for systematic abuse. The Norwegian government opposes claims that children are abused by government approval. In 2008 their case before the European Court of Human Rights was dismissed, but they each offered ¥ 8,000 tokens from the Norwegian government.
Medical experiments
In conjunction with a 1999 claim by war children, a movement was filed in September 2000 on charges that 10 warlords were subjected to experiments with LSD approved by the Norwegian government and financed by the CIA, the American intelligence agency.
In the postwar years, medical staff in several European countries, and the United States, conducted clinical trials or experimental treatments involving LSD, most of them at some point between 1950 and 1970. In Norway, trials involved volunteer patients under protocol after traditional medical care proved unsuccessful.
Recognition and apology
Since the mid-80s, the fate of war children has become famous in Norway. The Norwegian government has admitted its neglect to them. The Norwegian Prime Minister apologized openly during a New Year's Eve speech in 2000. As an adult, 150 former Lebensborn Children demanded compensation and damages from the Norwegian government for failing to protect them and discriminate against them.
The most famous Norwegian war boys are Anni-Frid Lyngstad, former ABBA singer. By marrying her is Princess Anni-Frid Reuss of Plauen.
Norwegian
German forces invaded Norway in 1940 and occupied the country until 1945. By the end of the war, German forces stood at 372,000. It is estimated that between 10,000 and 12,000 children were born to Norwegian mothers with German partners during the occupation. When Nazi ideology regarded Norwegians as pure Aryans, the German authorities did not forbid the army to pursue contacts with Norwegian women. Their Lebensborn organization pushed it.
After the war, these women in particular, but also their children, were persecuted in Norway.
Denmark
German troops occupied Denmark between 1940 and 1945. The German army was encouraged to associate with Danish women, who were also considered pure Aries. The government has estimated between 6,000 and 8,000 children born to Danish mothers with German partners during or after the occupation. The women were nicknamed "German Girls", used in a derogatory meaning. The Danish government has documented 5,579 such children.
In 1999, the Danish government allowed this group to access the parent archives. They freed this offspring from the country's normal secrecy period for 80 years for such records.
French
The German army was forbidden to establish contact with French women by the Nazi regime at the beginning of the occupation. Due to enforcement difficulties, the military then tolerated fraternization. This is an intermediate situation between the impulse of a similar relationship in Denmark and Norway, and a strict ban on Eastern Europe. Different rules are based on the Nazi racial ideology of which populations are considered racial enough by race to be desirable for children born to their men.
The number of war children born to French women in France by German soldier's father in 1941-49, estimated at 75,000 to 200,000. After the expulsion of German troops from France, the women known to have links with the German army, were arrested, "on trial," and exposed on the streets to criticism and public attack. Having their heads shaved in public to mark them is a common punishment. Such breeds have formed groups to represent them, the Amicale Nationale des Enfants de la Guerre.
Finnish
During wartime and the post-war period, Finnish women gave birth to 468,269 children in Finland in the period 1940-1945. A small portion, about 1,100 children, is the father of foreign troops. About 700 children were born by the German army, 200-300 to Soviet prisoners of war, and 100 volunteers became Swedish. Depending largely on the background of the foreign father, most of these children have no father, and some mothers, along with their children, experience discrimination in Finnish society.
German soldiers
After the revision of the Anti-Comintern Pact of 1941, there were no more than 200,000 German troops in Finland, most of them stationed in Finnish Lapland in the period 1941-1944. According to the National Archives of Finland, some 3,000 Finnish women, some working for paramilitary auxiliary organizations Lotta SvÃÆ'¤rd and some for the Wehrmacht, have links with the German army. An estimated 700 children are born by German troops in Finland, and most are unplanned. Many German soldiers are aware of safe sex and the Wehrmacht makes them equipped with condoms, which have been estimated to effectively maintain a relatively low level of impregnation for Finnish women who have sex with German soldiers. A book published by OKW in 1943, Derdeutsche Soldat and Frau aus fremdem Volkstum, allowed the German army to marry a Finnish woman who could be considered to represent the "Aryan race," implying that there is uncertainty among authorities Nazis about the genetic suitability of Finnish ethnicity.
Finland was a coalition (1941-44) from Germany until the beginning of Lapland War (1944-45), a war that took place between Germany and Finland. During the Lapland War, in the fall of 1944 alone, about 1,000 Finnish women, two-thirds of them aged from 17 to 24, left the country and stood with the German army. The reason for leaving the country with the enemy varies, but the most common reason is the relationship with the German army. Furthermore, most of these women returned to Finland, because their presence was generally not expected in Germany and some others faced active persecution, such as forced labor. After the war, most Finnish mothers who had children with German soldiers were abandoned as single parents. Some of these children were adopted by Finnish men who married mothers of children.
Some Finnish women linked to the German army suffered discrimination in Finnish society. Discrimination is generally not as severe as that of other European women elsewhere for the same reason, largely because of the concept of "German-German-Finnish fraternity" during their co-aggressive and joint feud with the Soviet Union. Some of the Soviet POWs caught by the Finns are also closely intertwined with Finnish women, a situation that is considered far less socially acceptable and deserving of censorship (see below). But children whose father from the German army still suffered discrimination in their youth.
Soviet war prisoners
During the war, there were about 69,700 Soviet POWs in Finland, of which 5,700 were taken in the Winter War (1939-40) and 64,000 in the Continuing War (1941-44). Some living conditions of prisoners of war are relatively good, because, at least, about 15,000 of them are placed on farms, where they are used as forced labor, usually work more freely with Finnish civilians, some of whom have contacts with Finnish women. It is estimated that 600 Finnish women have ties to the Soviet POW, and 200-300 children are born from POW families and Finnish women. The background of these women varies: some are not married, while others are left dead by the war. Some of the relationships were adulterated, as some women married to the Finnish army who were absent at the time. The use of condoms is rare, partly due to their lack of availability for POW, and partly due to the lack of awareness of Finnish country women about condom use. After the Moscow Armistice, Finland began restoring prisoners of war to the Soviet Union, and most Finnish mothers who had children with prisoners of war were left as single parents. Some mothers marry Finnish men afterward.
The relationship between indigenous women and Russian ethnic captives Russia was specifically rejected in Finnish society, much more than similar ties to German troops and with POWs from other ethnic groups, such as the Finno-Ugric tribe. The strong factor behind this escalating criticism is the long-standing anti-Russian sentiment in Finland ( ryssÃÆ'¤viha in Finnish). Some female heads were shaved for alleged links with Russian war prisoners. Death terms such as ryssÃÆ'¤n heila (ryssÃÆ'¤ , ryssÃÆ'¤ , ryssÃÆ'¤ is a common Finnish reproach to a Russian) and < i> ryssÃÆ'¤n huora ( ryssÃÆ'¤ prostitute ) is widely used. Children who became fathers of Soviet prisoners of war also experienced discrimination in their youth, such as bullying in schools.
Swedish Volunteers
In total there are about 11,000 Swedish volunteers who fought for Finland at some point during the war. During the Winter War, Swedish volunteers numbered 9,640 and during the war Continued, there were over 1,600 Swedish volunteers, of whom about one-third had previously participated in the Winter War. About 100 children are born by Finnish women and Swedish volunteers. Often these women moved to Sweden with their children.
Greek
Little is known about the Greek Wehrmacht children, as it is still a problem surrounded by taboos in Greece, but the Greek children of the Wehrmacht army are known to have been subjected to public humiliation. Often, they are called "Germanobastardos" (Greek for "German bastards"). Mothers are discriminated against, and children suffer both because of having a stamped mother and often an unknown father. Quite often, mothers blame children for their bad situations. There are no official records of these children, but the researchers estimate their numbers to be at least 200. The relatively low number, some authors have argued, is because only a small part of pregnancy leads to birth, due to maternal fear of discrimination. Abortion was easily accessible in Greece at the time, and the Orthodox Church encouraged the silence of the problem and assisted women in abortion.
Dutch
The Nazis regarded Dutch women as Aryan and could be accepted as fraternisation by the German army. The Dutch Institute for War Documentation initially estimated that about 10,000 children by German fathers were born by Dutch mothers during the occupation. However, the latest figures, based on the new records available in the German Wehrmacht archive (the name of the German armed forces from 1935-1945), show that the actual number could be as high as 50,000.
Postwar children
Powered by Allied Forces in Germany
Allied troops occupied Germany for several years after World War II. The book GI and FrÃÆ'¤uleins , by Maria Hohn, documents 66,000 German children born to fathers who are Allied troops in the period 1945-55:
- American parents: 36,334
- French parent: 10188
- British parents: 8,397
- Soviet parents: 3,105
- Belgian parents: 1,767
- Others/unknown: 6,829
America
According to Perry Biddiscombe, more than 37,000 illegitimate children were fathered by American fathers within 10 years after Germany surrendered (in a general agreement with Hohn numbers quoted above). Locals generally disagree with any relationship between occupation forces and German and Austrian women. Not only Americans who became enemies recently, but residents fear American fathers will leave mothers and children to be cared for by the local people, who are very poor after the war. The majority of 37,000 illegitimate children end up as social services wards for at least some time. Many of the children are still state administrators for a long time, especially children of African-American fathers. Mixed-race children, called "brown children," were rarely adopted in a country that was so homogeneous at the time. Arrangements are made for some such children to be adopted by an African-American partner or family in the United States.
The food situation in occupied Germany was at first terrible. In the spring of 1946, the official rations in the US zone were no more than 1,275 calories per day (much less than needed to maintain health), with some regions probably receiving only 700 people. Some US troops exploit this desperate situation for their benefit, using a large supply of food and cigarettes (black market currency) as what is known as "frau bait". Each side continues to see the other as an enemy, even while exchanging food for sex. The often poor mothers of the generated children usually do not receive benefits.
Between 1950 and 1955, the Allied High Commission for Germany prohibited "the process of establishing paternity or obligation for the care of children." Even after the lifting of the ban, the West German court has little power to gain child support from American troops.
The children of black American soldiers, commonly called Negermischlinge ("half Negro breeds"), are severely disadvantaged. Even in cases where the army wanted to marry the mother of his son, he was prevented by the US Army, which banned racial marriage until 1948, when the Army was integrated by Executive Order of President Harry Truman.
In the early stages of the occupation, American soldiers were not allowed to pay maintenance for children they claimed to be fathers, the military classified such assistance as "assisting the enemy". The marriage between the white soldiers of the United States and Austrian women was banned until January 1946, and with German women until December 1946.
The official United States policy on war children is summarized in the Star and Lines on April 8, 1946, in the article "Frauleins of Warning!":
"Girls who expect a child whose father from an American soldier will be given without help by the American Army... If the soldier denied the father, no further action will be taken than just telling women about this fact. seek help from a German or Austrian welfare organization. If the army is already in the United States, its address will not be communicated to the woman in question, the soldier can be safely discharged from the army and the will of demobilization is not at all postponed Claims for child support from German and Austrian mothers the unmarried will not be recognized If the soldier voluntarily recognizes the father, he must provide for the woman in the right way.
English
British troops also occupied some of what was later organized as West Germany. The fraternization between the local German army and women was dispelled by the British authorities because of Germany's status as an enemy during the war. The British government did not allow its citizens to marry German citizens until the 1960s. In recent years, especially since the last years of the Cold War, such marriages have become more common.
Prominent children from British soldiers and German mothers include Lewis Holtby, Kevin Kerr, Maik Taylor and David McAllister.
Canada
Canada declared war on Germany in 1939, after the British war declaration the previous week. During the war the Canadian troops participated in the allied invasions of both Italy and Normandy. Prior to the continental European invasion, a large number of Canadian troops were stationed in England.
An estimated 22,000 children are born by British mothers and Canadian soldiers stationed in England. In the European continent, it is estimated that 6,000 were born to Canadian father in the Netherlands, with smaller numbers born in Belgium and other places where Canadian troops were stationed during and after the war.
A famous example is Eric Clapton.
In the following countries
Netherlands
At liberation, many Dutch women welcomed Allied forces and had a relationship that produced babies; this is called 'Baby Liberation'. It is estimated that about 4,000 "liberation babies" were fathers of Canadian soldiers before they left the area in early 1946.
Austria
In Austria, children of war (, Russenkind ") by famous Russian occupation fathers are discriminated against, as well as their mothers.
Austria also hates women who have links with American soldiers, calling them 'chicks' ('Amischickse') or, in the case of those with links to black troops, 'chocolate girl' (Ã, Â »SchokoladenmÃÆ'¤dchenÃ,«). In April 1946, the Star and Lines newspapers warned the pregnant "FrÃÆ'¤uleins" that the military authorities would not provide assistance to them or their children if the fathers were US troops. The newspaper said that a girl "Power Through Joy" who eats from the forbidden fruit must accept the consequences, "referring to the Nazi slogan.
In coordination with American groups, an Austrian welfare program began after the war to send mixed race children from Austrian/African-American parents to the United States for adoption by African-American families. Children at that time ranged in age 4 to 7 years.
Amerasians
Perhaps more than 100,000 children have been born to Asian mothers and US troops in Asia. This occurred mainly during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Some of these children were born by mothers who were raped by men who lived in several US military bases in the region since World War II. Collectively these children are known as Amerasians , a term coined by author Pearl S. Buck.
Eurasia
Many Asian-European children were also born during the colonial period from the British, French and Dutch governments of India and various Southeast Asian countries. In many cases, the father is a colonial civil servant, settler or military officer who lives in the occupied Asian country while his mother is a local. The term "Eurasia" is used but has variants depending on the country of origin and nationality of the parents. Examples include Burghers (Portuguese or Dutch) in Sri Lanka, Kristang (usually Portuguese) in Malaysia and Goans (Portuguese) and Anglo-Indian (UK) in India.
Rape case
Many war children were born as a result of their mother being raped by enemy troops during World War II. The military rape of conquered women has been practiced in many conflicts throughout human history. Recent examples include during the long-running war in Congo and Sudan.
The Former Yugoslavia
In the 1990s the organization was formed to classify such violence against women as one of the war crimes prosecuted in the former Yugoslavia. Some Muslim women in Bosnia who were raped in Serbian camps were assisted by humanitarian organizations.
Situation of mother, war and father children
Prevention
Recognition in 1989 that violence against women in the form of rape was a deliberate military strategy and violation of human rights led to the approval of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. Since 2008, the UN Security Council has banned such sex offenses, defining them as war crimes. The German weekly Die Zeit describes this action as a milestone.
Integration
One writer suggests that the adoption and assimilation of a child into a new family may be a solution to prevent war children from growing up as unwanted and mobbed by people in hostile environments. The number of such children shows that this is not practical.
Children's ignorance of war on the origin
Often war kids never understand why they are isolated or persecuted. They did not learn the identity of their father until the end of his life or by chance:
- with comments from their classmates, relatives, or neighbors
- when they need official documents e. g. family list, or
- after their mother died.
In many cases, when war kids try to learn the identity of their real fathers years later, searching is usually difficult and often futile.
Unknown father
The occupation forces after World War II strictly prohibited fraternity by military personnel with people from the occupied territories. The couples involved tried to hide their relationship because of this interdiction and hatred and rejection by the occupied population. Fathers of war boys are generally excluded from civil actions by mothers to claim child benefits or allowances.
Communication with mothers of war children often stops when the soldiers are suddenly moved, often without time to say goodbye. Several soldiers were killed in action. In the postwar period, the army fathers were prevented on condition of returning to former native women and war children even if they wanted to. Others have wives and families to return home, and deny having children of war. In some cases, they never know that they have become the father of children when serving overseas.
Mother trauma
At the end of the war, mothers with war children are prosecuted as criminals and punished in an embarrassing way for their relationship with the enemy. They are socially and economically isolated. Many of them can only rehabilitate themselves and become honored by marrying fellow countrymen. Long-term persecution of a former girlfriend of a German soldier is documented in a book by ANEG; he said that he was traumatized for the rest of his life.
Some mothers give their war boys to public welfare homes. Others try to integrate children into families formed with new partners and their children (stepfamily). Some mothers died during the war.
Children looking for their father
The network of European war children, "Born War - international network," was founded in October 2005. They meet annually in Berlin to help each other, make decisions about finding parents, and find out new positions.
Search by war children from World War II
Changing opinions
Since the end of the 20th century, when they reached retirement age, many war children from World War II have begun searching for their full identity and their roots. Legitimate children of German dads may also be interested in contacting their father's previously unknown war child, if they know one or more exists. Public opinion becomes more compassionate towards the past generation of war children. Some of the biological fathers are still alive. Subject to bullying and humiliation, many of the mothers never tell their children about their foreign fathers.
Norway
The government has suggested that the person trying to do the research should collect complete birth documents, including birth certificates (not just the parts). The Norwegian archives at Victoria Terrasse in Oslo burned in the 1950s, and many of these important documents were lost. The Norwegian Red Cross has several records. It is often easier to track Norwegian mothers first with Church records.
Belgium
The government and researchers recommended that people look for documentary evidence from the Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt, Auslandsorganisation - Amt fÃÆ'¼r Volkswohlfahrt und Winterhilfswerk (1941-1944) on the payment of benefits. Old photographs with a greeting on the back or a private letter can give clues to the identity of a father.
French
Since 2005 the community, Amicale Nationale des Enfants de la Guerre (ANEG), has worked in France and Germany to help the descendants of parents of mixed nationalities, whether a German father in France or a French father in German occupied. Coeurs Sans FrontiÃÆ'¨res/Herzen ohne Grenzen (Unlimited Heart) is another French organization supporting the search for family members of French children whose father was a German soldier during the occupation.
German
The mixed children of white German women and the army of World War I Black called "Rhineland Bastards". This phrase, along with many other racial racists, reinforces the current ideology that the Blacks are animals and do not care for their children. The "Brown Babies" became an international concern, with publishing and advertising in Black America for adoption. In this effort there is a different emphasis in both countries on the color of the child's skin (for example: advertised as "Brown Babies" not just as "orphans"). This is important because dark skin colors exclude children from Germany's national identity, and allow them to be more acceptable in America than those offered to bright-skinned "German" babies. This distinction is more emphasized when "Brown Babies" who are adopted to the US are then forbidden to speak their native German. It serves an attempt to wipe out an entire generation of Afro-Germans.
Since 2009 the German government has granted German citizenship of applications and documentation by war children born in France to French mothers and fathers of the German army in World War II.
Search in German Archives
Some central files are part of the German archive:
- In Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt), the German military movement of World War II troops can be traced. Children looking for their German father (soldier, prisoner of the Second World War) can find some clues here.
- The Federal-Archives of the German Military (In German: Bundesarchiv-MilitÃÆ'¤rarchiv) in Freiburg im Breisgau has several copies of personal documents. For each unit of the former Wehrmacht, it has what is called "KriegstagebÃÆ'¼cher" (daily events report) where the movement, and losses per day and units are recorded.
- The former Berlin Document Center archive contains details of private membership in the Nazi party and the German Third Reich organization. These archives were transferred to the Federal Archives of Germany, the Berlin-Lichterfelde branch. Search for the person concerned may be 30 years after death. The details needed are name, first name, date of birth, and occupation and various activities.
- The Volksbund Deutsche KriegsgrÃÆ'¤berfÃÆ'¼rsorge has direct access files, with searchable online databases, of all known German War World I and II tomb tombs.
Postwar children
Post war wars often seek in vain: their knowledge of their father's personal data may be unclear, some archives are closed, and much data is lost.
Find US father
Children of war by American soldiers can get help in their search of the GITrace organization. Since 2009 the German-based association, GI Babies Germany e.V., has also assisted in finding the roots of German mother and GI children in the occupation.
Search Canadian father
The Canadian organization Roots UK helps war children in the UK to track down a Canadian father. Instead it also helped the Canadian veteran's father to track a child born in England during or immediately after World War II.
Psychological help
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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