Year of national shame in France. Lying collaborators. Fascist bedding and cowardly European half-men

After the liberation of the territories of European states occupied by Germany, thousands of women who had personal relations with German soldiers and officers were subjected to humiliating and cruel executions at the hands of their fellow citizens.


1. The French were the most actively persecuting their compatriots. The anger from the defeat, the long years of occupation, the split of the country, liberated France took out on these girls.

2. During the campaign to identify collaborators and reprisal against them, called L'épuration sauvage, about 30 thousand girls suspected of having links with the Germans were subjected to public humiliation.

3. Often personal scores were settled in this way, and many of the most active participants tried to save themselves in this way, diverting attention from their cooperation with the occupying authorities.

4. An eyewitness of those events: “An open truck slowly drove past us to the accompaniment of swearing and threats. There were about a dozen women in the back, all with shaved heads, bowed low in shame. The footage of the chronicle is the personification of these words.

5. Often they did not stop shaving their heads, they painted a swastika on their face or burned a brand on their forehead.

6. There were also cases of lynching, when the girls were simply shot. Many, unable to bear the shame, committed suicide.

7. They were declared "nationally unworthy", many received from six months to one year in prison, followed by a reduction in their rights for another year. People called this last year "the year of national shame." Similar things happened in other liberated European countries.

8. But another aspect has been shyly silent for decades - these are children born from German military personnel. They were twice outcast - born out of wedlock, the fruit of communication with the enemy.

9. According to various estimates, more than 200 thousand so-called “children of the occupation” were born in France, but, oddly enough, the same French treated them most loyally, limiting themselves only to a ban on German names and the study of the German language. Although there were cases of attacks from children and adults, many mothers were abandoned and they were brought up in orphanages.

10. In one of Somerset Maugham's stories - "Unbowed", created in 1944 - the main character kills her child, born from a German soldier. This is not fiction - similar cases also characterized that time.

11. Founder of the French-German Association of Occupation Children “Hearts Without Borders”, which now has about 300 members, a Frenchman, the son of a German soldier: “We founded this association because society infringed on our rights. The reason is that we were Franco-German children, conceived during the Second World War. We united in order to jointly search for our parents, help each other and carry out work to preserve historical memory. Why now? Previously, this was impossible to do: the topic remained taboo.

12. By the way, in today's Germany there is a legislative norm according to which the children of German military personnel born to French mothers are entitled to German citizenship ...

13. In Norway, there were about 15 thousand such girls, and five thousand who gave birth to children from the Germans were sentenced to a year and a half of forced labor, and almost all children were declared mentally disabled at the suggestion of the government and sent to mental hospitals, where they were kept until 60s.

14. The Norwegian War Children's Union would later claim that "Nazi caviar" and "half wits" - as these children were called - were used to test medicines.

). And here is a kind of continuation. The war is over. Europe has been cleansed of fascism. And the shame of peaceful cohabitation with the occupiers of the vast majority of the population, the French and other civilized Europeans decided to wash away with cruel reprisals against ... their women.

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After the liberation of the territories of European states occupied by Germany, thousands of women who had personal relationships with German soldiers and officers were subjected to humiliating and cruel executions at the hands of their fellow citizens.

1. The French were the most actively persecuting their compatriots. Anger from defeat, long years of occupation, split of the country, liberated France took out on these girls.

2. During the campaign to identify and punish collaborators, called "L" épuration sauvage, about 30 thousand girls suspected of having links with the Germans were subjected to public humiliation.

3. Often personal scores were settled in this way, and many of the most active participants tried to save themselves in this way, diverting attention from their cooperation with the occupying authorities.

4. An eyewitness of those events: "Past us, to the accompaniment of swearing and threats, an open truck was slowly driving. There were about a dozen women in the back, all with shaved heads, bowed low in shame." The frames of the chronicle are the personification of these words.

5. Often they did not stop shaving their heads, they painted a swastika on their face or burned a brand on their forehead.

6. There were also cases of lynching, when the girls were simply shot, many, unable to bear the shame, committed suicide.

7. They were declared “nationally unworthy” and many received from six months to one year in prison, followed by a reduction in their rights for another year. People called this last year “the year of national shame”. Similar things happened in other liberated European countries.

8. But another aspect has been bashfully silent for decades - children born to German military personnel. They were twice outcasts - born out of wedlock, the fruit of a connection with the enemy.

9. According to various estimates, more than 200 thousand so-called "children of the occupation" were born in France, but oddly enough, the same French treated them most loyally, limiting themselves only to a ban on German names and the study of the German language. Although there were cases of attacks from children and adults, many mothers refused, and they were brought up in orphanages.

10. In one of Somerset Maugham's stories, "Invictus", created in 1944, the main character kills her child, born of a German soldier. This is not fiction - similar cases also characterized that time.

11. Founder of the French-German association of children of the occupation "Hearts Without Borders", which now has about 300 members, a Frenchman, the son of a German soldier: “We founded this association because society infringed on our rights. The reason is that we were Franco-German children, conceived during the Second World War. We united in order to jointly search for our parents, help each other and carry out work to preserve historical memory. Why now? Previously, this was impossible to do: the topic remained taboo.”

12. By the way, in today's Germany there is a legislative norm according to which the children of German military personnel born to French mothers are entitled to German citizenship ...

13. In Norway, there were about 15 thousand such girls, and five thousand who gave birth to children from the Germans were sentenced to a year and a half of forced labor, and almost all children were declared mentally disabled at the suggestion of the government and sent to mental hospitals, where they were kept up to 60s.

14. The Norwegian War Children's Union would later claim that "Nazi caviar" and "half wits", as these children were called, were used to test medicines.

15. Only in 2005 will the Norwegian parliament officially apologize to these innocent victims and approve compensation for the experience in the amount of 3 thousand euros. This amount could be increased if the victim provided documentary evidence that they faced hatred, fear and mistrust because of their origin.

After the liberation of the territories of European states occupied by Germany, thousands of women who had personal relationships with German soldiers and officers were subjected to humiliating and cruel executions at the hands of their fellow citizens. The French were the most actively persecuting their compatriots. Anger from defeat, long years of occupation, split of the country, liberated France took out on these girls. During the campaign to identify and punish collaborators, called "L'épuration sauvage", about 30 thousand girls suspected of having links with the Germans were subjected to public humiliation.

Often, personal scores were settled in this way, and many of the most active participants tried to save themselves in this way, diverting attention from their cooperation with the occupying authorities. An eyewitness of those events: “Past us, to the accompaniment of swearing and threats, an open truck was slowly driving. There were about a dozen women in the back, all with shaved heads, bowed low in shame. The frames of the chronicle are the personification of these words.
Often, they did not stop shaving their heads, painted a swastika on their face with paint or burned a brand on their forehead. There were also cases of lynching, when the girls were simply shot, many, unable to bear the shame, committed suicide.

They were declared "nationally unworthy" and many received six months to one year in prison, followed by a further demotion for another year. People called this last year “the year of national shame”. Similar things happened in other liberated European countries.

Fascist occupation. And here is a kind of continuation. The war is over. Europe was cleansed of Nazism. And the shame of peaceful cohabitation and cooperation with the occupiers of the vast majority of the population, the French and other civilized Europeans decided to wash away with cruel reprisals against ... their women.

After the liberation of the territories of European states occupied by Germany, thousands of women who had personal relations with German soldiers and officers were subjected to humiliating and cruel executions at the hands of their fellow citizens.

The French were the most actively persecuting their compatriots. The anger from the defeat, the long years of occupation, the split of the country, liberated France took out on these girls.

During the campaign to identify collaborators and reprisal against them, called L'épuration sauvage, about 30 thousand girls suspected of having links with the Germans were subjected to public humiliation.

Often, personal scores were settled in this way, and many of the most active participants tried to save themselves in this way, diverting attention from their cooperation with the occupying authorities.

An eyewitness of those events: “An open truck slowly drove past us to the accompaniment of swearing and threats. There were about a dozen women in the back, all with shaved heads, bowed low in shame. The footage of the chronicle is the personification of these words.

Often, they did not stop shaving their heads, painted a swastika on their face with paint or burned a brand on their forehead.
There were also cases of lynching, when the girls were simply shot. Many, unable to bear the shame, committed suicide.

They were declared "nationally unworthy", many received from six months to one year in prison, followed by a reduction in their rights for another year. People called this last year "the year of national shame." Similar things happened in other liberated European countries.

But another aspect has been shyly silent for decades - these are children born from German military personnel. They were twice outcasts - born out of wedlock, the fruit of a connection with the enemy.

According to various estimates, more than 200 thousand so-called “children of the occupation” were born in France, but, oddly enough, the same French treated them most loyally, limiting themselves only to a ban on German names and the study of the German language. Although there were cases of attacks from children and adults, many mothers were abandoned and they were brought up in orphanages.

In one of Somerset Maugham's short stories, Invictus, created in 1944, the main character kills her child, born of a German soldier. This is not fiction - similar cases also characterized that time.

Founder of the French-German Association of Occupation Children “Hearts Without Borders”, which now has about 300 members, a Frenchman, the son of a German soldier: “We founded this association because society infringed on our rights. The reason is that we were Franco-German children, conceived during the Second World War. We united in order to jointly search for our parents, help each other and carry out work to preserve historical memory. Why now? Previously, this was impossible to do: the topic remained taboo.

By the way, in today's Germany there is a legislative norm, according to which the children of German soldiers born to French mothers are entitled to German citizenship ...

In Norway, there were about 15 thousand such girls, and five thousand who gave birth to children from the Germans were sentenced to a year and a half of forced labor, and almost all children were declared mentally handicapped at the suggestion of the government and sent to mental hospitals, where they were kept up to 60 years old. x years.

The Norwegian Union of War Children would later claim that "Nazi caviar" and "half-wits" - as these children were called - were used to test medicines.

Only in 2005 will the Norwegian parliament officially apologize to these innocent victims and approve compensation for the experience in the amount of 3 thousand euros. This amount could be increased if the victim provided documentary evidence that he faced hatred, fear and mistrust because of his origin.

After the defeat of the Third Reich, many women who had sexual relations with the Nazis were ostracized in Europe and the USSR. Their children, born of Germans, also had a hard time. European democracies have especially succeeded in persecuting “German litters” and “German bastards,” writes Vladimir Ginda in the Archive section in No. 43 of the magazine Correspondent November 2, 2012

World War II ended in the spring of 1945 for the majority of the population of the victorious countries. But among the citizens of the victorious countries there were people who for a long time bore the burden of war. We are talking about women seen in sexual relations with the Germans, as well as children born from the invaders.

In the USSR, women who became entangled with the enemy were shot without further explanation or sent to camps. However, in European countries they were treated no better - they were killed, sentenced to prison terms, or they were given public humiliating punishments.

The fate of their German children in the USSR was not documented, but, apparently, for the most part they were no different from their peers. But in the West, the Germans sometimes had a hard time: in Norway, for example, they were forcibly imprisoned in homes for the mentally ill.

national disgrace

Most of all in Europe, the French distinguished themselves in the persecution of their compatriots who maintained intimate relations with enemies. Crushed by the occupation and a large number of collaborators, liberated France took out all her anger on fallen women. Among the people, based on the contemptuous nickname of the Germans - boches, they were called "bedding for boches."

Such women began to be persecuted during the war years, when the French Resistance waged an underground struggle against the invaders. Underground workers distributed leaflets among the population with the following text: “French women who give themselves to the Germans will be cut bald. We will write on your back - Sold to the Germans. When young French women sell their bodies to the Gestapo or the militia [collaborators], they are selling the blood and soul of their French compatriots. Future wives and mothers, they are obliged to maintain their purity in the name of love for the motherland.”

Most of all in Europe, the French distinguished themselves in the persecution of their compatriots who maintained intimate relations with enemies.

From words, the participants of the Resistance quickly moved on to deeds. According to historians, from 1943 to 1946, more than 20,000 women were shaved bald in the country for “horizontal collaborationism,” as the French derisively called sexual relations with the invaders.

Similar “lynchings” took place like this: armed underground workers broke into houses and pulled out guilty women by force, took them to city squares and cut their hair. The punishments and humiliations were all the stronger because they were carried out in public, in front of relatives, neighbors and acquaintances. The crowd laughed and applauded, after which the disgraced were led through the streets, sometimes even naked.

Shaving the head was essentially a mild form of punishment. Some of the “litters” had a swastika painted on their face with paint or even burned out the corresponding brand. And some of them had to endure brutal interrogations, accompanied by beatings, when details of their sex life were beaten out of women.

After a wave of harassment of “bosh mats,” most of these women were sentenced to prison. According to a government decree of August 26, 1944, approximately 18.5 thousand French women were recognized as “nationally unworthy” and received from six months to one year in prison, followed by a decrease in their rights for another year. People called this last year “the year of national shame”.

Some of the “litters” had a swastika painted on their faces or even branded accordingly.

Often, harlots were shot, and sometimes they themselves, unable to withstand the burden of ostracism, took their own lives.

The fate of the Norwegian "German whores" (tysketoser) was similar. After the war, more than 14,000 such people were counted in Norway, of which 5,000 were sentenced to a year and a half in prison. They were also publicly humiliated - undressed, smeared with sewage.

In the Netherlands, after May 5, 1945, about 500 “fritz girls” (moffenmaiden) were killed during street lynching. Other women found to have links with the occupiers were rounded up on the streets, stripped and doused with filth or kneeled in the mud, their hair shaved or their heads painted orange.

Soviet approach

In the USSR, there were no public trials of "German whores" like European ones. The Kremlin did not take dirty linen out of the hut - it acted with a proven method: arrest and deportation to Siberia. They did not look for a reason for a long time - the authorities considered all the inhabitants of the occupied territories as guilty a priori.

This position was clearly voiced on February 7, 1944, at a plenum of Soviet writers in Moscow by Ukrainian Petro Panch. “The entire population now in the liberated areas, in fact, cannot freely look into the eyes of our liberators, since they are to some extent confused in relations with the Germans,” he said.

According to the writer, the inhabitants of the occupied territories either robbed apartments and institutions, or helped the Germans in robbery and executions, or speculated. And some girls, “having lost their sense of patriotism”, lived with the Germans.

The party leadership unequivocally recognized women who had sexual relations with the Nazis, prostitutes and traitors

The party leadership unequivocally recognized women who had sexual relations with the Nazis, prostitutes and traitors. So, the circular of the NKVD of the USSR of February 18, 1942 On the organization of operational-Chekist work in the liberated territory, the heads of the regional and linear departments of the NKVD were ordered to begin their work in the liberated lands with the arrests of previously identified henchmen and active accomplices of the Germans.

The document also listed a number of categories of the population subject to priority persecution. In particular, it was about women who married officers, soldiers and officials of the Wehrmacht, as well as about the owners of brothels and brothels.

Later, at the end of April 1943, in a joint order of the people's commissars of internal affairs, justice and the prosecutor of the USSR, an instruction was issued to more actively apply repressive sanctions against women caught in voluntary intimate or close domestic relations with Wehrmacht personnel or officials of German punitive and administrative bodies. Most often, such accomplices were punished by taking away their children.

But they could also be shot without trial or investigation, and literally immediately after the advent of Soviet power.

Most often, such accomplices were punished by taking away their children.

For example, in the report of a representative of the Hitlerite Ministry of Eastern Territories under the Army Group South, it was reported that in the sector Slavyansk - Barvenkovo ​​- Kramatorsk - Konstantinovka (eastern Ukraine) in the spring of 1943, the very next day after the liberation of this area by the Red Army, representatives of the NKVD held mass arrests.

First of all, those who served in the German police, worked in the occupation administration or other services were detained. In addition, women who had sexual relations with the Germans, who were pregnant by the occupiers or had children from them, were killed on the spot along with the babies. In general, according to German documents, about 4 thousand people were killed then.

And in one of the reports of Abwehr, German military intelligence, it was stated: after an unsuccessful attempt to liberate Kharkov, undertaken by the Red Army in 1942, during the short time that the city was in the hands of the Soviet side, the NKVD border troops shot 4 thousand inhabitants.

“Among them are many girls who were friends with German soldiers, and especially those who were pregnant. Three witnesses were enough to eliminate them,” the report says.

innocent victims

The life of children born of Germans was not easier. Many of them (no matter where they lived - in the USSR or in Western Europe) had to fully experience humiliation.

Historians still cannot clearly determine how many “children of the occupation” appeared in different European countries. In France, it is believed that local women gave birth to 200 thousand babies from the Germans, in Norway - from 10 thousand to 12 thousand.

How many such children were born on the territory of the USSR is unknown. In an interview, the American historian Kurt Blaumeister stated that, according to his calculations, 50-100 thousand German babies were born in Russia, the Baltic states, Belarus and Ukraine during the occupation period. Compared to 73 million - the total number of people living in the occupied territories - this figure looks insignificant.

In France, it is believed that local women gave birth to 200 thousand babies from the Germans, in Norway - from 10 thousand to 12 thousand.

These children were considered outcast twice - both as born out of wedlock and as the fruit of a connection with the enemy.

In some countries, the rejection of the “children of the occupation” was fueled by the authorities. For example, in Norway, 90% of "German bastards" (tyskerunge), or "Nazi caviar" (naziyingel), were declared mentally disabled and sent to mental hospitals, where they were kept until the 1960s. Later, the Norwegian Union of Children of War said that "half wits" were used to test medicines.

It was only in 2005 that the parliament of the Scandinavian country officially apologized to these innocent victims of the war, and the justice committee approved compensation for their experience in the amount of 3 thousand euros.

The amount can be increased tenfold if the victims provide documentary evidence that they have faced hatred, fear and mistrust because of their origin.

The latter norm aroused indignation among local human rights activists, who rightly pointed out that it is difficult to prove beatings, offensive nicknames, etc., if this happened many years ago and some of the actors have already died.

Only in 2005 did the parliament of the Scandinavian country officially apologize to these innocent victims of the war, and the Justice Committee approved compensation for their experience in the amount of 3 thousand euros

In France, the "children of Boches" were initially treated with loyalty. Measures of influence were limited to a ban for them to learn German and bear German names. Of course, not all of them managed to avoid attacks from their peers and adults. In addition, many of these babies were abandoned by their mothers, and they were brought up in orphanages.

In 2006 the "Children of the Boches" united in the Heart Without Borders association. It was created by Jean-Jacques Delorme, whose father was a Wehrmacht soldier. The organization currently has 300 members.

“We founded this association because the French society infringed on our rights. The reason is that we were Franco-German children conceived during World War II. We united in order to jointly search for our parents, help each other and carry out work to preserve historical memory. Why now? Previously, it was impossible to do this: the topic remained taboo, ”Delorme said in an interview.

By the way, since 2009, a law has been in force in Germany, according to which children born in France from Wehrmacht soldiers can receive German citizenship.

Non-Soviet children

Almost nothing is known about the fate of children born by Soviet women from the invaders. Rare archival data and eyewitness accounts indicate that they were treated quite humanely in the USSR. At least no one did any purposeful work against them. Most of the "children of war" seem to have received education, jobs and lived normal lives.

The only official document showing that the authorities were thinking about how to deal with German children was a letter from Ivan Maisky, a well-known Soviet historian and Deputy People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs.

Maisky wrote that it is difficult to establish the total number of such babies, but according to some data, we can talk about thousands of German chats.

On April 24, 1945, Maisky, together with a group of deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, sent a message to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. In it, the historian drew the attention of the leader to “one small issue” - children born in the territory occupied by Germany “due to the voluntary or forced cohabitation of Soviet women with the Germans.” Maisky wrote that it is difficult to establish the total number of such babies, but according to some data, we can talk about thousands of German chats.

“What to do with these children? Of course, they are not responsible for the sins of their parents, but is there any doubt that if the Germans live and grow up in those families and in the environment in which they were born, then their existence will be terrible? - the official asked Stalin.

To solve the problem, Maisky suggested taking German chats from their mothers and distributing them to orphanages. Moreover, during admission to the orphanage, the child must be given a new name, and the administration of the institution should not know where the new pupil came from and whose it is.

But if Maisky's letter to Stalin has been preserved, then the answer of the leader of the peoples is unknown, just as any reaction of the Kremlin to the message is unknown.

This material was published in No. 43 of the Korrespondent magazine of November 2, 2012. Reprinting of publications of the Korrespondent magazine in full is prohibited. The rules for using the materials of the Korrespondent magazine, published on the Korrespondent.net website, can be found .