Mother-Child Relationship Representations of Children Born of Sexual Violence in Post-WWII Germany

It is estimated around 1.9 million German women were raped in the post-World War II period. Unwanted pregnancies were common and many women went on to raise these children born of sexual violence (CBSV). Now more than 70 years later, we sought to explore the perceptions of past and present relationships of CBSV with their mothers. Using a combination of qualitative methodologies, we analyzed autobiographical interviews of participants born between 1945–1955 across Germany. Narratives were first coded for mother-child content (allowing a comparison between participants), and later examined as a holistic unit (to address within-participant data).

Three categories of mother-child relationships were identified: conflictual relationships, an emotionally absent parent, and positive upbringings. By employing a collective case study, we were then able to place these along three axes of relationality that positioned the participants’ perception of their relationships with their mothers and allowed interactions between the different perceived roles in those relationships to emerge: accountability and agency vs. exoneration and victimhood of the mother; accountability and agency vs. exoneration and victimhood of the child and longing vs. detachment. This study complements other research among those born during post-WWII occupation in Germany and Austria and highlights the diverse experiences CBSV have with their mothers. It serves as a reminder of the necessity for personal narratives to continue being documented, particularly given the frequency with which children are born of sexual violence in conflicts today. Appreciating the potential life-long impact for these individuals is key to initiating change.

Highlights

• The qualitative findings shed light on the complex and ambivalent feelings CBSV have retrospectively towards their mother-child relationship.
• Three categories of mother-child relationships were identified: conflictual relationships, an emotionally absent parent and positive upbringings.
• Narratives were described along three axes of relationality highlighting different perceived roles in the relationships: accountability and agency vs. exoneration and victimhood of the mother; accountability and agency vs. exoneration and victimhood of the child and longing vs. detachment.
• CBSV deal with some form of self-described victimhood and accountability of the mother and the child as well as both longing and detachment, when considering their mother-child relationship.
• This study is one of very few studies that captures the whole life span of individuals born in the post-WWII period.