War Children: Survival and Resilience in the Shadow of Conflict

By Fouad Sabry

What is War Children

Individuals who are born to a local parent and a parent who is a member of a foreign military unit are referred to as war children. The act of having a child by a member of a hostile force is frequently regarded as a major violation of social standards, and this perception has persisted throughout history and throughout cultures. The native parent is frequently disowned by the family, friends, and society as a whole by the native parent. When referring to children who were born during World War II and its aftermath, the phrase "war child" is most widely used. This is especially true when referring to children who were born to fathers who were serving in German occupying forces in northern Europe. There were also children born in Norway who were called Lebensborn. The discrimination that local parents and children experienced in the postwar period did not take into account the extensive rapes that were committed by occupying forces or the partnerships that women were required to develop in order to survive the war years.

How you will benefit

(I) Insights, and validations about the following topics:

Chapter 1: War children

Chapter 2: Prisoner of war

Chapter 3: First Indochina War

Chapter 4: Amerasian

Chapter 5: Lebensborn

Chapter 6: Prisoner-of-war camp

Chapter 7: German occupation of Norway

Chapter 8: Non-Germans in the German armed forces during World War II

Chapter 9: War bride

Chapter 10: Allied war crimes during World War II

(II) Answering the public top questions about war children.

Who this book is for

Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of War Children.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Billion Knowledgeable
• Release date: Jun 23, 2024

Book preview

Chapter 1: War children

Children that are born to a local parent and a parent who is a member of a foreign military force (often an occupying force, but also military personnel stationed at military facilities on foreign soil) are considered to be war children. The act of having a child by a member of a hostile force is frequently regarded as a major violation of social standards, and this perception has persisted throughout history and throughout cultures. It is common for the native parent, who is typically a woman, to be rejected by the community as a whole, including family and friends. When referring to children who were born during World War II and its aftermath, the phrase war child is most widely used. This is especially true when referring to children who were born to fathers who were serving in German occupying forces in northern Europe. There were also children born in Norway who were called Lebensborn. During the postwar period, the discrimination that local parents and children experienced did not take into account the widespread rapes that were committed by occupying forces, nor did it take into account the partnerships that women had to develop in order to survive the war years.

Children whose parents were members of an invading army or whose parent(s) collaborated with enemy forces are not responsible for any war crimes that their parents may have committed. On the other hand, these children have frequently been stigmatized in their culture due to their descent from the enemy and have been subjected to discrimination. They are also affected by the fact that they are associated with a parent who is being prosecuted for war crimes in the years following the conflict. As a result of this, many of these children had emotions of guilt and shame as they matured into adolescents and adults.

For instance, there are children who were born during and after World War II and whose dads were members of the military who served in areas that were occupied by Nazi Germany. Some of these children claim that they lived with their identity in an inner exile until the 1980s, when they officially acknowledged their status. These youngsters claim that they lived with their identity. Born Guilty is a collection of twelve interviews with individuals whose parent(s) had been linked with German forces in occupied Norway. In 1987, Bente Blehr declined to remain anonymous, and an interview with her was published in the book. In 1993, Eystein Eggen published The Boy from Gimle, which was the first autobiography written by a boy who was born to a German occupying soldier and a Norwegian woman. Eggen dedicated his book to all children who were born to such a situation. The publication dates back to Norway.

Throughout history, women who have voluntarily allied themselves with members of the occupying military have been subjected to social disapproval both during and after wartime. This has been the case both during and after the conflict. In many cases, women who became pregnant as a result of such couplings would frequently take steps to conceal the father's identity.

Typically, they selected one of the following options::

Establish a marriage with a man from the community who would be willing to accept responsibility for the child.

In the event that the kid's father was either unknown, deceased, or absent, the child would be raised by the mother alone.

The relationship should be acknowledged, and the child should be raised by a single mother.

Recognize the connection between the two parties; accept the welfare provided by the occupying force (see to the German Lebensborn).

The child should be placed in an orphanage, or it should be made available for adoption.

You should move to the country that is occupying you and claim its identity.

Have an abortion

Following the conflict, it was not uncommon for both the mother and the kid to deal with the consequences that were brought about by the local people. These kinds of ramifications were significant across the entirety of Europe. Although there were instances of torture and deportation committed against women and children, the majority of the actions committed against them fell into one or more of the following categories::

The terms German whore and German kid were frequently used in the German language.

Harassment or isolation from the population at large and from the educational institutions

Loss of work

Shaving the heads of the mothers, which was a common practice in the immediate aftermath of the war, in order to publicly identify and humiliate them

Placement in internment camps or detention camps for a limited extent

Even though the effects of the war were felt most strongly in the immediate aftermath of the conflict, prejudices against women and the children they had continued to exist far into the 1950s, 1960s, and beyond.

The number of children who were fathered by German soldiers during World War II is impossible to estimate. This is because of the nature of the conflict. Such pregnancies were typically concealed by mothers out of fear of retaliation and retaliation from other members of the family. It is estimated that the lower numbers are in the hundreds of thousands, while the upper estimates are significantly higher and reach into the millions.

The Lebensborn program was one of numerous projects that were started by Heinrich Himmler, the leader of the Nazi party, in an effort to ensure that the Third Reich would maintain its racial heredity. One of the primary functions of the program was to provide a welfare institution for parents and children who were regarded to be of racial significance, first those of SS men. It was at the time that German forces were occupying countries in northern Europe that the organization expanded its program to provide care to women and children who were deemed to be suitable, particularly in Norway, where the women were deemed to be suitable. 'Aryan'.

Under the provisions of German law (Hitlers Verordnung, 28 July 1942), a local Lebensborn office in Norway was founded in 1941. This agency was known as Abteilung Lebensborn, and its purpose was to provide assistance to the children of German troops and their Norwegian mothers. The organization managed a number of residences where expectant mothers may give birth to their children. Additionally, until the conclusion of the war, these facilities acted as permanent homes for women who were eligible for them. In addition, the organization covered a variety of expenses, including as medical bills, dental treatment, and transportation, in addition to paying child support on behalf of the father.

The total number of Lebensborn houses that were established ranged from nine to fifteen. Abteilung Lebensborn was responsible for registering 8,000 of the approximately 10,000–12,000 children who were born to Norwegian women and German fathers during the war for the German government. There are 4,000 of these cases in which the father is identified. The mothers were encouraged to place their children for adoption, and a significant number of them were sent to Germany, where they were either adopted or nurtured in institutions.

It was usual practice among Norwegians to refer to these children as tyskerunger, which is a disparaging epithet that can be translated as German-kids or Kraut kids. This practice continued after the war. The more diplomatic phrase krigsbarn, which literally translates to war children, came into usage as a result of later recognition of the mistreatment that they had received after the war. This term is currently the one that is commonly accepted.

Following the conclusion of the war, many members of the general population in countries that had been occupied at the time made the children and their mothers social outcasts. This occurred as societies mourned and despised the losses that had been incurred during the war, and they actively rejected everything that was linked with Germany. This resulted in the children and their mothers being socially isolated on a regular basis, and a significant number of children were bullied by other children and occasionally by adults because of their background.

For instance, soon following the peace, 14,000 women were detained in Norway on the allegation of collaboration or association with the enemy. Additionally, 5,000 women were kept in forced labor camps for a period of one and a half years without any kind of judicial action being taken against them.

When diplomatic ties improved in 1950, the Norwegian government was able to collect child support from fathers of war children who were residing in West Germany and Austria. These dads were identified as having been living in those countries. Since 1953, payments of this kind have been made. It wasn't until 1975 that diplomatic connections between East Germany and the United States were established, and before then, child support payments from dads living in East Germany were kept in locked accounts.

A few of the children who were abused throughout the conflict have attempted to receive formal recognition for their cruelty. An attempt at genocide, according to those who support the cause, was made against them in the form of prejudice. The inability of the state to safeguard them as Norwegian citizens was the subject of a claim that was submitted to the Norwegian courts by 122 children who had been affected by the war in December of 1999. There were seven people who signed the claim, and the purpose of the lawsuit was to test the limits of the law. These lawsuits have been declared null and void by the courts because of the statute of limitations.

Citizens of Norway who have been neglected or mistreated by the state are permitted by law to submit an application for simple compensation, which is a form of compensation that is not subject to the statute of limitations.

During the month of July in 2004, the government broadened the scope of this compensation scheme to include children who had endured less severe challenges during the war.

The basic compensation rate is set to 20,000 NOK (€2,500 / $3,000) for what Norwegian government terms mobbing (bullying).

Those who can document other abuse can receive up to 200,000 NOK (€25,000 / $30,000).

Dated March 8th, 2007, At the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, 158 youngsters who had been affected by conflict were scheduled to have their cases heard.

They demanded reparations of between 500,000 SEK (≈ 431,272 NOK) and 2,000,000 SEK (≈ 1,725,088 NOK) each for systematic abuse.

In response to the allegations that the children had been abused with the government's approval, the Norwegian government rejected the allegations.

Additionally, in September of 2000, a petition was submitted saying that ten war children had been subjected to tests with LSD that had been sanctioned by the Norwegian government and financed by the CIA, which is the American intelligence agency. This motion was filed in connection with the claim that was made by the war children in 1999.

Since the middle of the 1980s, the fate of the children who went through the war has been widely recognized in Norway. It has been admitted by the Norwegian government that they have been neglected there. During his speech on New Year's Eve in the year 2000, the Prime Minister of Norway issued a public apology at that time. After reaching adulthood, the 150 individuals who were born into the Lebensborn family have filed a lawsuit against the Norwegian government, demanding compensation and damages for the failure to safeguard them and discrimination against them.

Anni-Frid Lyngstad, a former member of the boy band ABBA, is the most well-known former member of Norway's war children.

The invasion of Norway by German forces in 1940 resulted in the occupation of the country until 1945. By the time the war was over, the total number of German forces had reached 372,000. During the time of the occupation, it is estimated that between 10,000 and 12,000 children were born to Norwegian mothers who were married to German partners. Due to the fact that Nazi ideology held the belief that Norwegians were pure Aryans, German authorities did not interfere with the pursuit of romantic relationships between soldiers and Norwegian women. Their Lebensborn organization was sympathetic to the cause.

In the aftermath of the war, these women, in particular, as well as their children, were subjected to mistreatment in Norway.

This occupation of Denmark by German forces lasted from 1940 until 1945. The Danish ladies, who were likewise regarded to be pure Aryan, were urged to socialize with the German soldiers. There were around 6,000 to 8,000 children born to Danish mothers who were married to German partners during or shortly after the occupation, according to estimates provided by the government. German Girls was a derogatory moniker that was given to the women due to their German heritage. There have been 5,579 children of this type recognized by the Danish government.

This group was granted permission to explore the records of parenthood by the Danish government in the year 1999. These descendants were spared from the regular confidentiality term of eighty years that the country normally observes for records of this nature.

At the beginning of the occupation, the Nazi authority made it illegal for German soldiers to have romantic connections with women from France.

Because of the challenges involved in enforcement, Later on, the military allowed for fraternization to occur.

An intermediary condition between the encouraging of similar partnerships in Norway and Denmark, this was a circumstance that occurred in