1945–1955: War Children in Austria
Descendants of Austrian women and Allied soldiers
Following the Second World War, approximately 30,000 war children were born in Austria: as a result of romantic relationships between local women and Allied soldiers, short affairs, but also rapes. They were often considered the “children of the enemy”, although de jure the fathers were no longer enemies. Many were exposed to various forms of discrimination and stigmatisation or rendered taboo.
The majority of those affected grew up without a biological father. The military personnel usually did not know that they had fathered a child or, were transferred even before the child had been born. Others ran away – sometimes with false promises. Some of the mothers married Western Allied occupation soldiers and moved to their home countries as “war brides”. After the signing of the Austrian State Treaty in 1955 and the withdrawal of troops from the country, especially Soviet military personnel moved out of reach.
For many war children – and for their descendants too – the search for their fathers continues to be an issue to this day. Paramount is the exploration of one's own identity, the question of “personal roots”, the attempt to close this gap in one's own biography.
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