War children A war child refers to a child born to a native parent and a parent belonging to a foreign military force ( usually an occupying force , but also soldiers stationed at military bases on foreign soil ) . Having a child with a member of a belligerent foreign military , throughout history and across cultures , is often considered a grave betrayal of social values . Commonly , the native parent is disowned by family , friends and society at large . The term " war child " is most commonly used for children born during World War II and its aftermath , although it is also relevant to other situations , such children born following the widespread rapes during the 1971 Bangladesh atrocities associated with the war of liberation . The discrimination suffered by the native parent and child often ignored widespread rapes by occupying forces , or the relationships women had to form in order to survive the war years . The following article has extensive coverage of issues in Norway during and after World War II . Discrimination . Children whose either parent was part of an occupying force or whose parent ( s ) collaborated with enemy forces are innocent of any war crime s committed by parents . Yet these children have felt condemned by descent from the enemy and , sometimes , by the crimes revealed in the subsequent prosecution of a parent ' s acts . As such children grew to adolescence and adulthood , many harbored the feelings of guilt and shame . One example is children born whose fathers were World War II occupying soldiers . These children claim they lived with their identity in an inner exile until the 1980s , when some of them officially acknowledged their status . In 1987 Bente Blehr refused anonymity ; an interview with her was published in " Born Guilty " , a collection of 12 interviews with persons whose parent ( s ) had been associated with German forces in occupied Norway . The first autobiography by the child of a German occupying soldier and a Norwegian mother was " The Boy from Gimle " ( 1993 ) by Eystein Eggen ; he dedicated his book to all such children . It was published in Norway . For women to have a voluntary relationship with a soldier of an occupying force has historically been censured . Women who became pregnant would often take measures to conceal the fact that the father was a foreign soldier , if possible . The choices available to them usually were : After the war it was common for both mother and child to suffer repercussions from the local population . Such repercussions were widespread throughout Europe . While some women and children suffered torture and deportation , most acts against them fell into one or several of the following categories : While repercussions were most widespread immediately after the war , sentiments against the women and their children lingered into the 1950s , 60s , and beyond . War children of World War II . Estimates of the number of war children fathered by German soldiers during World War II are difficult to gauge . Mothers tended to hide such pregnancies for fear of revenge and reprisal by male family members . Lower estimates range in the hundreds of thousands , while upper estimates are much higher , into the millions . Lebensborn program . " Lebensborn " was one of several programs initiated by the Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler to secure the racial heredity of the Third Reich . The program mainly served as a welfare institution for parents and children deemed racially valuable . In Norway a local Lebensborn office , " Abteilung Lebensborn " , was established in 1941 to support children of German soldiers and their Norwegian mothers , pursuant to German law ( Hitlers Verordnung , July 28 , 1942 ) . The organization ran several homes where pregnant women could give birth . Facilities also served as permanent homes for eligible women until the end of the war . Additionally , the organization paid child support on behalf of the father , and covered other expenses , including medical bills , dental treatment and transportation . In total , between 9 and 15 Lebensborn homes were established . Of the estimated 10 , 000 – 12 , 000 children born to Norwegian mothers and German fathers during the war , 8 , 000 were registered by Abteilung Lebensborn . In 4 , 000 of these cases , the father is known . During and after the war , the Norwegians commonly referred to these children as " tyskerunger " , translating as " German - kids " or " Kraut kids " , a derogatory term . As a result of later recognition of their post - war mistreatment , the more diplomatic term " krigsbarn " ( war - children ) came into use and is now the generally accepted form . Post - war years . As the war ended , the children and their mothers were viewed as outcasts by many among the general populace in formerly occupied countries . They grieved and resented the losses of the war and everything that had to do with Germany . The children and their mothers were often isolated socially , and many children were bullied by other children , and sometimes by adults , due to their origin . For instance , immediately after the peace , 14 , 000 women were arrested in Norway on suspicion of " collaboration " or association with the enemy ; 5 , 000 were , without any judiciary process , placed in forced labor camps for a year and a half . Their heads were shaved and they were beaten and raped . In an interview for the Swedish newspaper " Dagens Nyheter " , war children claim that , while living at an orphanage in Bergen , they were forced as children to parade on the streets so the local population could whip them and spit at them . In a survey conducted by the Norwegian Ministry of Social Affairs in 1945 , the local government in one third of the counties expressed an unfavorable view of the war children . The same year the Ministry of Social Affairs briefly explored the possibility of reuniting the children and their mothers with surviving fathers in post - war Germany , but decided not to . Five hundred children who were still living in Lebensborn homes at the end of the war had to leave as the homes were closed down . Some children were left to state custody , during a time when such care was marked by strict rules , insufficient education , and abuse . Approximately 20 children ended up in a mental institution in 1946 , due to lack of space in other institutions and unsuccessful adoption attempts , where some remained past their 18th birthday . Due to the political attitudes prevailing after the end of the war , the Norwegian government made proposals to forcibly deport 8000 children and their mothers to Germany , but there were concerns of the deportees having no livelihood there . Another option was to send them to Sweden . Australia was also considered after opposition from the Swedish government ; the proposals were later shelved . Financial and legal issues . In 1950 , diplomatic relations made it possible for the Norwegian government to collect child support from those fathers living in West - Germany and Austria , and as of 1953 such payments were made . Child support from fathers living in East - Germany was kept in locked accounts until diplomatic relations between the two countries was established in 1975 . Some of the war children have tried to obtain official recognition for past mistreatment , which some claim equates to an attempt at genocide . In December 1999 , 122 war children brought a claim before the Norwegian courts ; only seven signed the claim , which was a case to test the boundaries of the law . The courts have ruled such suits as void due to the statute of limitations . However , an arrangement in Norway allows citizens who have experienced neglect or mistreatment by failure of the state to apply for " simple compensation " ( an arrangement is not subject to the statute of limitations ) . In July 2004 the government expanded this compensation program to include war children who had experienced only minor difficulties . The basic compensation rate is set to 20 , 000 NOK ( €2 , 500 / $ 3 , 000 ) for what Norwegian government terms " mobbing " ( bullying ) . Those who are able to produce evidence of abuse can receive up to 200 , 000 NOK ( 25 , 000 € / $ 30 , 000 ) . On March 8 , 2007 , 158 of the war children were to have their case heard at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg . They demanded reparations of between 500 , 000 SEK ( ≈ 431 , 272 NOK ) and 2 , 000 , 000 SEK ( ≈ 1 , 725 , 088 NOK ) each for systematic abuse . The Norwegian government contested the claim that the children were mistreated . Medical experimentation . In conjunction with the claim brought before the Norwegian courts by the war children in 1999 , a motion was filed in September 2000 alleging that 10 war these experiments were approved by the government and financed by the CIA , the American intelligence agency . Medical staff in several European countries , as well as the US , conducted clinical trial s or experimental treatment involving LSD , most of them at some point between 1950 and 1970 . In Norway , trials involved volunteer patients under a protocol after traditional medical treatments had proved unsuccessful . Acknowledgment and apology . Since the mid - 80s , the fate of the war children has become well known , and the government has admitted neglect . The Prime Minister of Norway apologized publicly in his New Year ' s Eve speech in 2000 . As adults , the 150 former Lebensborn Children are suing for reparations and damages from the Norwegian government for failing to protect them and discriminating against them . The most famous of Norway ' s war children is Anni - Frid Lyngstad , a former ABBA singer and now Princess Anni - Frid Reuss of Plauen . Norway . German forces invaded Norway in 1940 and occupied the country until 1945 . At the end of the war , the German forces stood at 372 , 000 . It is estimated that between 10 , 000 and 12 , 000 children were born to Norwegian mothers with German partners during the occupation . As Nazi ideology considered Norwegians to be pure Aryans , German authorities did not prohibit soldiers from pursuing relationships with Norwegian women . After the war these women especially , but also their children , were mistreated in Norway . Denmark . German forces occupied Denmark between 1940 and 1945 . German soldiers were allowed to fraternize with Danish women , also considered Aryan . The government has estimated between 6 , 000 and 8 , 000 children were born to Danish mothers with German partners during or just after the occupation . The Danish government has 5 , 579 such children in their files . In 1999 the Danish government allowed this group access to parenthood archives , exempting them from the country ' s normal secrecy period of 80 years for such records . France . German soldiers were forbidden from having relationships with French women by the Nazi regime at the beginning of the Occupation . Due to difficulties of enforcement , fraternization was tolerated . This was an intermediate situation between the encouragement of similar relationships in Denmark and Norway , and strict prohibition in Eastern Europe ; the different regulations were based on Nazi racial ideology . The number of war children born to French women in France in the years 1941 - 1949 , whose fathers were German soldiers , is estimated to be 75 , 000 to 200 , 000 . After the expulsion of German troops from France , those women who were known to have had relationships with German soldiers , were arrested , " judged " and exposed in the streets to hatred . Having their heads shaved in public was a common punishment . Such descendants have formed a group to represent them , " Amicale Nationale des Enfants de la Guerre . " Netherlands . The Nazis considered the women of the Netherlands to be Aryan and therefore acceptable for fraternization by German soldiers . The Dutch Institute for War Documentation originally estimated that around 10 , 000 children were born to German fathers during the occupation . However , recent figures based on records at the archives of the German Wehrmacht ( name of the German armed forces from 1935 – 45 ) indicate that the real number could be as high as 50 , 000 . Post - war children . Fathered by Allied Forces in Germany . The Allied forces occupied Germany for several years after World War II . The book " GIs and Fräuleins " , by Maria Hohn , lists 66 , 000 children as born to soldiers of Allied forces in the period 1945 – 55 : American . According to Perry Biddiscombe , more than 37 , 000 illegitimate children were born to American fathers in the 10 years following the German surrender . Relations between the occupation forces and German and Austrian women were considered suspect by the locals . Not only were the Americans the recent enemy , but the residents feared the American fathers would abandon the mothers and children to be cared for by the local communities , impoverished after the war . A majority of the 37 , 000 illegitimate children ended up as wards of the social services for at least some time . Many of the children remained wards of the state for a long time , especially children with African - American fathers , who were seldom adopted in what was then a more homogeneous country . The food situation in occupied Germany was initially very dire . By the spring of 1946 , the official ration in the US zone was no more than 1275 calories per day ( much less than the minimum required to maintain health ) , with some areas probably receiving as little as 700 . Some US soldiers used this desperate situation to their advantage , exploiting their ample supply of food and cigarettes ( the currency of the black market ) as what became known as " frau bait " . Each side viewed the other as the enemy , but exchanged food for sex anyway . The often destitute mothers of the resulting children usually received no alimony . Between 1950 and 1955 , the Allied High Commission for Germany prohibited " proceedings to establish paternity or liability for maintenance of children . " Even after the lifting of the ban , West German courts had little power to gain child support from American soldiers . The children of black American soldiers , commonly called " Negermischlinge " ( " Negro half - breeds " ) , were particularly disadvantaged . Even in the cases where the soldier wanted to marry the mother of his child , he was prevented by the US Army which , until 1948 , prohibited interracial marriages . In the earliest stages of the occupation , US soldiers were not allowed to pay maintenance for children they admitted having fathered , since to do so was considered as " aiding the enemy " . Marriages between white US soldiers and Austrian women were not permitted until January 1946 , and with German women until December 1946 . The official US policy on war children was summed up in the " Stars and Stripes " in 8 April 1946 , in the article " Pregnant Frauleins Are Warned ! " : " Girls who are expecting a child fathered by an American soldier will be provided with no assistance by the American Army . . . If the soldier denies paternity , no further action will be undertaken other than to merely inform the woman of this fact . She is to be advised to seek help from a German or Austrian welfare organization . If the soldier is already in the United States , his address is not to be communicated to the woman in question , the soldier may be honorably discharged from the army and his demobilization will in no way be delayed . Claims for child support from unmarried German and Austrian mothers will not be recognized . If the soldier voluntarily acknowledges paternity , he is to provide for the woman in an appropriate manner . British . After the end of the War in 1945 , British troops remained in what later became West Germany . Fraternisation between soldiers and local German women was frowned upon by British authorities due to war propaganda portraying Germans as " the enemy " . Marriage was only legally allowed during the 1960s . In recent times , especially during the later years of the Cold War , such intermarriages have become more common . Notable examples include Lewis Holtby , Kevin Kerr , Maik Taylor and David McAllister . Canadian . Canada declared war on Germany in 1939 , following Britain ' s war declaration the week before . During the war Canadian forces participated in the allied invasions of both Italy and Normandy . Prior to the invasion of continental Europe , significant Canadian forces were stationed in Britain . An estimated 22 , 000 children were born to British mothers and Canadian soldiers stationed in Britain . In continental Europe , it has been estimated that 6 , 000 were born in the Netherlands , with smaller numbers born in Belgium and other places where Canadian forces were stationed during and after the war . A famous example is Eric Clapton . In the following countries . Netherlands . On liberation , many Dutch women welcomed liberating troops in a way that resulted in babies ; these are called ' Liberation babies ' . It is estimated that about 4 , 000 " liberation babies " were fathered by Canadian soldiers before they left the area in early 1946 . Austria . In Austria , Russian war children ( „ Russenkind “ ) were discriminated against , as well as their mothers . Common unfavourable expressions for those women who were on friendly terms with allied soldiers were ' American girl ' ( » Amischickse « or » Dollarflitscherl « ) and , in the case of those who had relations with black soldiers , ' chocolate girl ' ( » Schokoladenmädchen « ) . In April 1946 , the " Stars and Stripes " newspaper stated that there was no hope for assistance by military authorities for " pregnant Fräuleins " . The paper stated that a " " Strength Through Joy " girl who ate from the forbidden fruit should accept the consequences . " An Austrian welfare program was started after the war in coordination with American groups , in which African - American / Austrian babies were sent to the United States for adoption by African - American families . The children ranged in age from 4 to 7 years . Amerasians . Probably more than 100 , 000 children have been born to Asian parents and U . S . servicemen in Asia . This chiefly occurred during World War II , the Korean War and the Vietnam War . Children fathered by US servicemen were also born to mothers living near the several U . S . military bases in the region since World War II . These children are known as " Amerasian s " , a term coined by the author Pearl S . Buck . Cases of rape . Numerous war children were born because of their mothers being raped by soldiers during World War II and in other conflicts , including many conflicts in Africa , where rape of women has been widespread in the Congo and Sudan , for instance . Former Yugoslavia . Attention in the 1990s was drawn on violence against women as among the war crimes in former Yugoslavia . Muslim women in Bosnia who were raped in Serbian camps got help by looking for assistance from humanitarian organizations . Also Serbian and Croatian women in Bosnia were raped accordingly by Muslim ( especially ) Wahhabis or Croatian soldiers . Situation of mothers , war children and fathers . Prevention . The recognition that violence against women in the form of rape was a deliberate military strategy and human rights abuse led in 1989 to the approval of Convention on the Rights of the Child . Since 2008 United Nations Security Council bans sexual violations as a war crime . The German weekly " Die Zeit " said this was an historical milestone . Integration . Integration into a new family might be a solution to prevent war children from growing up as unwanted and mobbed by people in a hostile environment . War children ' s ignorance of origins . Often the war children wondered why they were treated unjustly and learned to know of their father ' s identities late in life or by chance : In most cases , the delayed search by war children for their biological fathers was difficult and often in vain . Fathers unknown . Occupation forces after the war strictly interdicted fraternization with people of the occupied territories . Couples who became involved tried to hide their relation because of these interdictions and the unfavourable mood of the occupied population . Fathers of war children were generally excepted from actions for alimony . Communication with the mothers of war children often ceased when the soldiers suddenly got movement orders , without a chance to say good bye . Some of the soldiers were killed in action . In the post - war period , soldier fathers were prevented by conditions from returning to their former girl friends and war children even if they wanted to . Others had surviving wives and families to return to at home , and denied having war children , or may not have known when children were born . Mothers traumatized . At the end of war , mothers with war children were prosecuted as criminals and punished in humiliating ways for their relations with the enemy . They were isolated socially and economically . Many of them could only rehabilitate and become respected by marrying a fellow countryman . Persecution of a former girlfriend of a German soldier who evaded the immediate punishment ( forced head shaving ) is documented in a book by ANEG ; she was traumatized for the rest of her life Some of the mothers gave their war child to a home of public welfare . Others tried to care for the child with their new partner and their common children ( step family ) . Some of the mothers died during the war . Children in search for their fathers . A network of European war children , " Born of War — international network , " was founded in October 2005 . They meet every year in Berlin to assist each other , make decisions about searching for parents , and find out new positions . World War II children . Changing opinions . Now reaching retirement age , many war children from World War II have begun to look for their full identity and their roots . Often the children of the German father are also interested to get in contact with the unknown war children of their father . Public opinion is more compassionate toward the past generation of war children . Few of the biological fathers are still alive . Many of the mothers never told their children about their foreign fathers , as they were subject to bullying and humiliating procedures by their family members and neighbours . Norway . People trying to do research should gather the complete birth documents , including the birth certificate ( not only parts of it ) . The Norwegian archive at Victoria Terrasse in Oslo burned down in the 1950s , and many of these important documents were lost . The Norwegian Red Cross has some records . It is often easier to trace the Norwegian mother first by Church records as an example . Belgium . Further proceedings are to find out whether there are documentary evidence from Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt , Auslandsorganisation – Amt für Volkswohlfahrt und Winterhilfswerk ( 1941 – 1944 ) about alimony payments . Valuable are also old photographs with greetings on the back or private letters . France . Since 2005 the society , " Amicale Nationale des Enfants de la Guerre " ( ANEG ) , has worked in both France and Germany to help descendants of parents of mixed nationalities , whether German father in France or French father in occupied Germany . Another French organization searching for family members of French children whose fathers were German soldiers during the occupation is " Cœurs Sans Frontières / Herzen ohne Grenzen " . Since 2009 the German government has granted German nationality on application for war children born in France to French mothers , from German soldier fathers of World War II . Search in German Archives . Several central files are part of the German archives : Post - war children . Post - war war children often search in vain as their fathers ' personal data are vague , archives closed or data lost . Search for US fathers . War children from American soldiers searching for their natural father and for their roots are assisted by the organization GITrace . Since 2009 the German - based association , GI Babies Germany e . V . , tries to find out as well the roots of children of postwar GIs and their German girl friends . Search for Canadian fathers . Organization Canadian Roots UK helps war children in Great Britain to trace their Canadian father . Vice versa it helps Canadian veteran fathers to trace a child born in the UK during or shortly after WW2 . Psychological assistance . Psychological assistance and help to find lost family members by publishing on the Internet is granted by the German association , " kriegskind . de e . V . "