Unresolved War Wounds

Hitler's Germany officially crumbled in 1945, but the psychological effects of the war continue, particularly in the minds of the 'Kriegskinder', Germany's generation of war children now in their sixties or older. Two films by German documentary filmmakers Karsten Deventer and Eva Schmitz visualised the lasting terrors of war trauma, explored during a recent film evening and discussion at the German Embassy in London, organised by the Dart Centre.

The first film, "Raped Women", told the story of Eva Marie Stege, now a woman of nearly 80 who was repeatedly raped by soldiers of the Red Army at the age of 16. Her strength and willingness to speak about her experiences has opened a new door in history for us. Histories of the Second World War rarely deal with the human element of war and suffering. How are those who were children during the war seen today? Dr Martin Parsons' at Britain's Reading University conducted an experiment examine how today's young people look at these war children. Eighteen students were shown images of war involving children, but only three of them actually noticed that the images involved young people. The others simply identified the war scene and destruction, something that many of us do when confronted by images of conflict in the media.

Perceptions clearly need to be changed. Not just those of historians, but also the perceptions of journalists, who continue to report war and its trauma. Previously in history or in the media, there has been little interest in the German victims of the war, or even in the true cost of evacuation in wartime Britain. Yet these are important fields as we continue to face the effects of conflict today. As was highlighted in the German Embassy discussion with the example of Somalian refuges in London, there is precious little knowledge about how to deal with the effects of war.

It is only in the last few years that the effects of war on the 'Kriegskinder' of Germany are becoming apparent. The length of time that it has taken for these matters to be discussed, as well as some of the responses that Deventer and Schmitz received to the two films that were broadcast on Germany's ZDF television channel, serve to highlight how hard it has been for Germany to consider these problems. There was for many years a certain level of denial, and with the economic miracle of the 1950s, the “Wirtschaftswunder”, Germans were focused on new beginnings, rather than reflecting on the past.

However, as the discussion highlighted with the example of Lebanon, conditions have to be right in the country for these matters to be dealt with. As Deventer's and Schmitz's second film showed with the continual surveillance of East German citizens who fell foul of the communist authorities, the conditions in post-war Germany—either East or West—were not right. It was only with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and re-unification that a new way of remembering could develop. This has also been eased with the depth of research and documentation of other horrors of the Second World War; most notably the Holocaust.

These factors, combined with retirement and the death of loved ones for the 'Kriegskinder', have brought their suffering to the fore. The second film told the story of a woman suffering from incredible physical and psychological pain. She was unable to walk on snow due to the terrible associations with events that took place in snow in the years of the war.

However, after treatment for trauma with Dr Peter Heinl (who also took part in the embassy discussion) her pain eased, and symbolically, she now has the strength and support to walk on snow once again.

The films are a moving and informative account of pain finally being recognised. Eva Marie Stege's suffering has been eased by writing and talking about her experiences. In the other film, a generation scarred as children during the war is finally being released from a life of psychological pain that was manifest in physical suffering.

There needs to be an acceptance and acknowledgement of the effects of war, and this should be embraced in history, the news and our everyday lives, only thus will it become easier for future victims of war to return to a normal way of life and recover from the traumas of conflict.