Trotzdem da! Kinder aus verbotenen Beziehungen zwischen Deutschen und Kriegsgefangenen oder Zwangsarbeiter*innen

In the organizer's words:

During the National Socialist era, friendly and intimate contact between Germans and prisoners of war or forced laborers was undesirable. In some cases, they were strictly forbidden. But they are "still there": children who emerged from such relationships. Their stories were taboo for a long time. They have been little researched and are barely present in the culture of remembrance. This exhibition is dedicated to their life stories.

Forbidden relationships

During the Second World War, around 13 million prisoners of war and forced laborers were forced to work in the German Reich. Both sides faced severe penalties for friendly or intimate contact with Germans. These ranged from prison sentences to imprisonment in a concentration camp and even the death penalty. Nevertheless, children were born from such relationships.

The children

Many children from forbidden relationships did not know for a long time that one of their parents had been a prisoner of war or forced laborer. Nevertheless, they were often stigmatized as illegitimate children and not conforming to social norms. They were repeatedly racially insulted and discriminated against. Many searched for decades for an unknown parent - in some cases with success.