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"Witnesses of War is the first work to show how children experienced the Second World War under he Nazis. Children were often the victims in this most terrible of European conflicts, falling prey to bombing, mechanised warfare, starvation policies, mass flight and genocide. But children also became active participants, going out to smuggle food, ply the black market, and care for sick parents and siblings. As they absorbed the brutal new realities of German occupation, Polish boys played at being Gestapo interrogators, and Jewish children at being ghetto guards or the SS. Within days of Germany s own surrender, German children were playing at being Russian soldiers. As they imagined themselves in the roles of their all-powerful enemies, children expressed their hopes and fears, as well as their humiliation and envy. his is the first account of the Second World War which brings together the opposing perspectives and contrasting experiences of those drawn into the new colonial empire of the Th… (more)
User reviews
The stories are ordered chronologically. In the early days, German boys and girls are enthusiastic about serving the Reich. In the end, they are disillusioned by bombing and Allied armies. And, of course, in the middle is brutal occupation for the Poles.
And The Holocaust. I find it difficult to write anything about children and The Holocaust.
I’ll have to read some more about Himmler. The SS maintained a “showpiece” camp at Theresienstadt (now Terezín), stocked with families and the elderly. The International Red Cross was allowed to inspect it and reported favorably. Himmler apparently believed his own propaganda, thinking that “International Jewry” actually wielded enough power to stop the Allied bombing campaign or even sign a separate peace if offered the Theresienstadt inmates in exchange. It isn’t clear if the offer was ever made; at any rate as things ran down it became irrelevant and Theresienstadt was liquidated.
“Childish innocence” is a cliché. The German kids play at Germans and Jews. The Polish kids play at Poles and Germans. The Jewish kids play at Kapos and prisoners. Sooner or later the survivors of all the groups play at having enough to eat.
One of the most disquieting chapters – in the whole ghastly litany of disquiet – was the discussion of the T-4 program. Just before the war a couple wrote the Führer about their handicapped son; he was becoming too difficult to care for; could he be euthanized? Whoever was in charge of the reading the mail decided this was worthy of attention, and the T-4 program was initiated – handicapped children were collected at regional centers and gassed (later, they were simply locked up and starved to death). Some parents, like the original petitioners, were glad to get rid of their burden. Others attempted to visit, but were told that the military had priority over railroads and they couldn’t get travel passes; eventually they received a little package of their child’s possessions, after death from “natural causes”. The technicians who had built the T-4 gas chambers later helped out the SS with their own construction problems.
Extensively researched and footnoted, with a long bibliography. Maps of places under discussion; two photograph sections. Not an easy read, for obvious reasons, but worthwhile.