World War II left Europe in shambles physically and biologically. While whole towns and cities were physically destroyed so were families, children were the largest group displaced or without homes due to the death of their parents. Eugene Kilischner estimated that “more than thirty million of the inhabitants of the continent of Europe have been transplanted or torn from their homes since the beginning of the war.” (Cohen Ch.1 Pg. 4). One of the major problems faced by the remaining countries in Europe was not only what to do with these people but how to replace those citizens who lost their lives throughout the course of the war. Children were targeted as a solution to these problems.
Children became a pawn in the game of “renationalization” soon after the end of the war due to both Human rights and practical implications. in the aftermath of the war many international organizations popped up with the intent of helping Europe’s “lost generation” of children. These organizations as well as national governments developed the idea that children had a fundamental right to a “national identity.” This theory led to the attempt to funnel all displaced children back to their country of origin or their parents country of origin for the sake of their right to National identity.
The second and more practical reason for the focus on displaced children in the wake of World War II was that a lot of people in Europe died and they needed to be replaced. As a way of doing this some countries such as France allowed refugee children to stay in country and become a citizen. The countries who had been occupied by the Nazi regime demanded restitution not only for physical property but also for human losses. With this idea of human restitution the formerly occupied countries often kept displaced children in the country as “immigrants” denying them the chance to return to their home countries and possibly their families. Through reading the articles by Cohen and Zahra it has become clear that Children were often used to satisfy a nations need for replacement citizens and future workforce under the guise of “renationalization” which caused a portion of Europe’s “Lost Generation” to remain lost from their true sense of National Identity.
Gerard Daniel Cohen, In War’s Wake: Europe’s Displaced Persons in the Postwar Order (2011), intro. & ch. 1
That picture is great! I could actually see the soldier tricking the children into leaving their homes and following him. It was actually quite chilling. They are truly a pawn being moved around by a larger force. I understand populations decreased to a point of worry, but moving children and going so far as to never letting them return to their home town is unethical. Every child has a right to know where they came from. It is also chilling to think that this was only a couple of generations ago. I would be interested in knowing how many of our peers have trouble tracking down their ancestry.
I really enjoyed reading your post! It really goes back to what we discussed in class on Tuesday, and how the children of Europe essentially became a resource for these war-ravaged countries. It really makes me question whether its ethical or not to view humans in such a manner.