Handbook for Germankids:  An enemy - a sweetheart - a father

Preface and Summary: (101 pages)

PREFACE  

Three of us – conceived as war children – wish to give you as a reader, fact and information concerning those challenges we experienced through out our childhood and what kind of problems we are facing to day, as adults, when searching for our roots. Others have written books about the war children and their identity. We are the war children! 

This book is firstly directed towards the war children that still haven’t been able to find their roots, e.g. you who were adopted, or you, who ended up in an orphanage. Following, to our children and grand children, and other interested. We’ll tell you about the thoughts and frustrations that we - the war children – are still struggling with, more than 50 years after we were born.  

When we decided to write this book, we felt it was right to enclose some background material, explaining what created the statement war children, making it easier to understand what was going on. This book contents 24 different stories from real life, stories experienced by the war children themselves, and which they in this way want to share with others. In the last part of the book you’ll find an overview of addresses that can be useful when you’re searching for information about your roots. In addition we have included some ready-made formulas for you to use when searching for information in public archives.  

This book couldn’t be written before, because we were just not mature enough for it, nor did we have the mentally recourses we needed. Not before the creation of the Norwegian War Children’s Association (NKBF) was this possible. It concentrates around a group of people that doesn’t have their roots gathered around them, their roots are just “somewhere out there”. When we were born we got one side of our roots cut off and the identity crises accrued. As solitary children we’ve been feeling like isolated cases. Not only did we miss a support system around us, we were also considered as “a free hunt” for the teachers and other grown-ups during the first years of our lives. Therefore we didn’t manage to present our self in such a positive way as wanted. We never manage to understand what wrong we had done.  

SUMMARY

There’s guarantied nothing like this book on the marked today. This is an attempt to chart the shortcuts to the public archives with filling information attached to a special problem: who am I? Because the writers don’t know where the objects are, do we have to write a whole book and show our tips for further investigation in Norwegian or foreign archives. We have not yet received any support to this work from the Norwegian authorities. 

As a starting point is this book designed for the war children who have had or have difficulties with access to information about themselves from the public archives. The background material is taken from real life. There are 24 war children who in their own way tell about which methods they used or have been using during the search after documents concerning their own existence.

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The Second World War lasted for approximately 5 years. The occupant’s intercourse with Norwegian women resulted in thousand of children. These children were called “war children” or “germankids”. The authorities have made sure that no one ever will know how many war children who was born and/or grew up, or where they live. These children are missing some peaces in their lives, because they’re still searching in the archives among others for an answer to who their father is or was. We know he was a soldier in an army who was guilty in many and serious crimes during the war – more or less in the same way as other armies in the modern history.  

In the book you can read that many of the war children suffered a lot, in the school, in their upbringing and in other ways after the liberation. Here, we’re talking about a burn marking that’s no more than an ignominious spot in the resent Norwegian history. Never the less did they drag a burden with them, which is affecting them even today. Therefore it’s impossible in modern time to understand the evil directed towards them. In the book you can also read about children who have several birth certificates forged by the authorities.  

The war children were seriously put on the authorities agenda again in 1986. Through the mass media, radio, TV, magazines and in the press is this common knowledge. Someone came forward and gave the war children a face. They had been hidden away for many years or as adults hidden themselves away. The war children have at the starting point not dared to tell openly about their origin. Neither did they dear to talk about their inner feelings, and in difficult times, maybe most of all, what they were thinking. In the book have 24 war children opened up and told about good and bad experiences, but no one will come forward with their full name. They have also focused on the problems created by the authorities attached to the search process.  

Who am I really? Who/how is my father? And for many who/how is my mother? There were many such questions. Someone got an answer, others didn’t. After 1986 have the war children, under certain given circumstances, for the first time got access to “their file” with the authorities.  

According to this book was surprisingly many of the mothers unwilling to give their children information that could lead them on the track in their search for their biological fathers. Why the mothers have been so unwilling, is still an unanswered question.  

The script was ready many years ago but none of the publisher we contacted was willing to print this.

We have to use our own resources - as usual.

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(C)2004 NKBF

Edited for the Internet by the Norwegian War children’s Association (NKBF). Homepage: http://www.nkbf.no