World War II Occupation of Germany: Foreign Fathered Children

Figure 1.--.

Large numbers of foreign troops since World War II have been stationed in Germany. The Soviets occupied eastern Germany. The Western Allies (America, britain, and France) occupied western Germany. And the foreign militaries were not just present during the occupation. Even after German soverignity was restored, the foreign militaries remained. Germany was on the dividing line between East and West in the Cold War. The roles of the Soviets and Western Allies varied. The Soviets were in the DDR not only as a Warsaw Pact force to defend the borders, but to ensure the survival of the Communist regime which had little popular support. The Western Allies remaind in the DFR at the request of a freely elected democratic gvernment. What ever the reasons, large numbdrs of foreign troops remained in Germany for several decades after World War II. The inevitable result was a substantial number of children fathered by the foreign troops. We believe that the vast proportion of these children were born in the first decade of the occupation (1945-55), but we have little data to substantiate this. The number of children involved is substantial, almost certainly exceeding 100,000 but we do not have precice data. There seems to be substasntial differences among the different occupation forces.

Occupation

NAXI Germany surrendered to the Allies (May 7, 1945). This was followed by the occupation of the Reich. There were at first four separate zones (American, British, French, and Soviet). As decided at Yalta, the Soviets occupied eastern Germany. the Western Allies (America, britain, and France) occupied western Germany. Subsequntly the Western Allies consolidated their zones into a single unified Western zone.

Cold War

And the foreign militaries were not just present during the occupation. Even after German soverignity was restored, the foreign militaries remained. Germany was on the dividing line between East and West in the Cold War. The roles of the Soviets and Western Allies varied. The Soviets were in the DDR not only as a Warsaw Pact force to defend the borders, but to ensure the survival of the Communist regime which had little popular support. The Western Allies remaind in the DFR at the request of a freely elected democratic gvernment.

Foreign Soldiers

Large numbers of foreign troops since World War II have been stationed in Germany. This began with the Occupation. But even after the occupation, large numbdrs of foreign troops remained in Germany for several decades after World War II. The inevitable result was a substantial number of children fathered by the foreign troops. Chronology

We believe that the vast proportion of these children were born in the first decade of the occupation (1945-55) We do not yet have data to substantiate this. But there are two reasons for believing this. First large numbers of German women were raped by Red Army soldiers in an orgy of rape and pillage as they moved into the Reich. Red Army soldiers were quickly brought under control by Soviets authorities, but not before rapeing very large numbers of women. The Western Allies did not engage in the mass rapeing of German women, but they had monet and Germans during the early phase of the occupation were struggling to survive. Thus the Allied soldiers were very appealing.

Numbers

The number of children involved is substantial, almost certainly exceeding 100,000 but we do not have precice data. There seems to be substasntial differences among the different occupation forces.

Countries Involved

Four countries occupied Germany, the three principal Western Allies (America, Britain, and France) and the Soviet Union. Their occupation policies different as did the pay and military rules. Thus the situation concening fratenization, especially affairs with women varied. Our information here is limited. Hopefully our reades will be able to provide more information and insights.

America

The U.S. soldiers who entered the Continent on D-Day (June 1944) and afterwards through VE Day (May 1945), according to one source, had on average sex with 25 women. Of course the precise number is unknowable but while most sources might tinker with the number, the basic point is not challenged. The peak of sexual activity seems to occurred in Germany after the surrender. This is probably because the Germans were devestated, men were in POW camps (Mosdt of those in Soviet camps never returned), and food abd fuel was difficult to obtain. Also soon after VE-Day, the Army becam sending men back to America. Army sources report that Condoms had to be rationed at four per man per month. Medical personnel complained that this was “entirely inadequate.” The U.S. Army conducted a survey which “revealed that the level of promiscuity among the troops was far higher than officially admitted, and rates rose in direct proportion to the amount of time the men had spent overseas.” Army sources report that over 80 percent of the men who had been away over 2 years reported that they had regular sexual intercourse. The Army found that in Italy, three-quarters of U.S. soldiers had intercourse with Italian women, anout once or twice a month. About three-quarters of these men paid in cash. The others used rationed food, or nothing. The Army survey found that less than half the GIs used condoms. [Goldstein] It is likely thatvthe situation in Germany was similar. General Eisenhowered ordered the U.S. Army in Germany to adopt a no-fraternization policy. The Army's experience in Italy seems to have been a najor influence. The Army policy, however, was widely flouted if not ignored. Many German women were desperate and the GIs far from home. There were punishments for fraternization, but they were minor matters suh as small fines. We suspect that many of the children fathered by Ameican soldiers occurred during the early yeats of the occupation. This is because of the very difficult conditions in Germany after the War. There were almost no jobs and food was very hard to get. Thus American GI's with money and PX privilgers were very attractive. As the Germany econnomy began to recover after 1948 this appeal gradually declined. A German source estimates that by 1955, American soldiers had fathered 67,700 children in Germany.

Britain

We have no information on British soldiers in occupied Germany. We do not know, for example, if they were more or less likely to fraternize. We do know that their pay was a good deal lower than that of the GIs. There is the famous war time ditty about the the GIs in Britain, "Over paid, over sexed, and over here." We do not have any actual information about the British in Germany.

France

France had occupied the Rhineland after World War I. The children fathered by the French becae known as the Rhinelabd bastards. It was a sore issue with the Germans because the French used sime African troops in the occupation. The NAZIs made it an issue. We have no information at this time on cthe children fathered by French occupation troops in World War II. We have noted reports that the French in the early years of the occupation were very rough on the Germanss.

Soviet Union

The Red Army soldiers raped large numbers of German women in an orgy of rape and pillage as they moved into the Reich. The mass rapes began in 1944 when the Red Army first reached the bordrs of the Reich in East Prussia. It continued through to the Red SArmy's conquest of Berlin (April 1945). A historian writes, "In many ways the fate of the women and the girls in Berlin is far worse than that of the soldiers starving and suffering in Stalingrad." Berlin women came to call the Red Army war memorial in Berlin as "the Tomb of the Unknown Rapist". [Johnson] Often the raping was not done by the front-line combat soldies, but by the less desciplined troops following in their rear. The soldiers apparently raped virtually any female they found, both youths and old women. The famous Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Nobel laureate who was serving in the Red Army writes, "The little daughter's on the mattress, /Dead. How many have been on it/ A platoon, a company perhaps?" Red Army soldiers even raped Soviet and Polish women liberated from slave labor and concentration camps. [Beevor] The NAZIs of course behave brutally in the Soviet Union. The NAZI campaign from the beginning as Hitler told his generals was going to be different. What Hitler had in mind was genocide and 25-30 million Soviet citizens may have died in the campaign. It has long been thought that the rapings were a form of retribution. Many Red Army soldiers and men saw it that way. Marshal Zhukov said, "Woe to the land of the murderers. We will get a terrible revenge for everything." One respected historian specialising on World War II hs come to the conclusion that more was involved. He writes, "By the time the Russians reached Berlin, soldiers were regarding women almost as carnal booty; they felt because they were liberating Europe they could behave as they pleased. That is very frightening, because one starts to realise that civilisation is terribly superficial and the facade can be stripped away in a very short time." [Beevor] This was something even the NAZIs had not dobne to them. I do think that there is any data on this as there would be no way of collecting it. But apparently millions of German women were raped, often repeatedly. Men who attempted to protect their daugters and wives were simply shot. Red Army soldiers were quickly brought under control by Soviets authorities, but not before rapeing very large numbers of women. Many Germans fled with the Wehrmacht as the Red Army approached. It is likely that many of the approximately approximately 15 million women who lived in eastern Germany were raped. German sources suggest that perhaps 2 million German women were raped. [Naimark] Probably about o.2 million died from injuries sustained during the rape or were killed outright. Even this enormous, however, number may be an understatement. Hungary was a NAZI ally and large numbers of women were also raped there. We do not know how many babies were actually born. One repot suggests that perhaps 2 million German women annually had illegal abortions during the early years of occupation (1945-48). [Johnson] How many children were actually born we do not know. We believe that most of the rapes took place in 1944 and 45 before and immediately offered the NAZI surrender. But incidents continued in the early yeas of the occupation. Soviet authorities finally began restricting Red Army soldiers (after June 1945). There were arrests and even executions. One source suggests the reason was the spread of disease. [Johnson] Perhaps, but there were probanly other reasons. The Cold War was beginning and Stalin no doubt saw the importance of trying to win over the German people. He also was apparently concerned that Red army soldiers in the Red Army occupation force were becoming conaminated with Western ideas. Soviet commandrs soon begn separating Red Army soldiers from the civilian population (1947). Most of the sources about the mass rapeings are German. Beevor and his Russian associate Lucy Vinogradova found ample evidence of it in Soviet archives, although there access was very limited. It is addressed in one of the great books to emerge from the War, Life and Fate by war correspondent Vasily Grossman.

Sources

Beevor, Antony. Daniel Johnson, "Red Army troops raped even Russian women as they freed them from camps," Telegrapg.co.uk," filed January 24, 2002).

Beevor, Antony. The Downfall 1945 (Penguin Books, 2002). Beevor was able to gain limited access to Soviet archives to write this book.

Goldstein, Joshua S. War and Gender: How Gender Shapes the War System and Vice Versa (Cambridge University Press, 2001).

Grossman, Vasily. Life and Fate (1960). This book was supressed by the KGB, but a copy reached Switzerland. Anthony Beevor and Lucy Vinogradova, translators and editors, A Writer at War: Vasily Grossman with the Red Army 1941–1945. While a novel in format it is one of the most revealing accounts of the titanic struggle which took place Eastern Front during World War II. It is an unflinching account of the bravey and attrocities of the Red Army.

Johnson, Daniel. "Red Army troops raped even Russian women as they freed them from camps," Telegrapg.co.uk," filed January 24, 2002).

Mark, James "Remembering Rape: Divided Social Memory and the Red Army in Hungary 1944-1945" Past & Present Number 188 (August 2005).

Naimark, Norman. The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occupation, 1945-1949.

Paulick, Jane. "The Allies’ Human Legacy Lives," OnDW-WORLD.DE (May 3, 2005). Paulick suggests that U.S. Army authorities went to enormous lenghs to separate GIs from their children. The U.S. Army dis have a no-fraterization policy and commanders were under orders to discourage marriages. While the Army could make marriage difficult, there was no real way of separating two peope who really wanted to get married.

Solzhenitsyn, Alexander. "Prussian Nights".

Created: 3:53 PM 11/18/2004
Last updated: 1:55 AM 11/20/2004