Through the Eyes of Innocents: Children Witness World War II

Praise for Through the Eyes of Innocents: "In this absorbing book, Werner captures the innocence of children caught in the crossfire of social change wrought by the war that destroyed cities and families and restructured lives....The text is supplemented by stunning photographs of children preparing for war...." —Booklist "[Werner] successfully weaves reflections and recollections with prose designed to engender compassion and identification, if not theoretical insight into coping with trauma." —Choite "[Werner] weaves children's letter, diaries, and interviews into a spellbinding narrative that brings WWII's saturation bombing, surrender, and everything in between into a focus that is sometimes too sharp to bear." —Berkeley Express "Emmy Werner continues her path-breaking research on the question of how children cope with difficult life experiences. At the end of a cruel century, her efforts show that across all nations, religions, and races there are forces of resilience fostering children as innocents. Since they are rooted in the nature of man, there is reason for hope." —Otto Speck Universitat Mlirtcheii "There is nothing quite lite an Emmy Werner book and this wonderful account of children's experiences in World War II is no exception. It comprises the most amazing, and moving, set of contemporaneous letters and interviews of children's feelings, thoughts, and responses. Some bring tears to your eyes, others make you laugh, and all cause you to reflect. The horrors of war and the atrocities committed by both sides, are noted but so too are the many acts of kindness and humanity. The suffering was great but so too was the resilience. Emmy Werner lets the story emerge through the words of the children themselves, but her own gentle passion and great compassion, as well as her consummate skills as a writer, ensure that the whole has a coherence and meaning that far exceeds the sum of its parts. This is a book that leaves indelible memories-—most of all about people as individuals but also about what their stories tell us about humanity and about war. There is no other account quite like this, and it is destined to become a classic." —Sir Michael Rutter Institute of Psychiatry, London "Through the Eyes of Innocents is a remarkable chronicle of World War II through the eyes of children who lived through it in its everydayness. The book provides a captivating perspective on how the little ones among us see the world. It offers an eye-opening look at resilience in the lives of children living through 'History' while mostly growing up in counterpoint to the challenges and opportunities of daily life, as children always do if given half a chance." —James Garbarino Cornell University; author of Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them "How do ordinary children experience war? In this fascinating book Emmy Werner brings us their voices through the use of letters and diaries written during the Second World War from every side of the conflict as well as through interviews with persons who were young at the time. The result is both moving and ultimately encouraging. Most of these children, and she was one of them, show remarkable resilience and grew up to be caring and compassionate adults. This is an inspiration for those of us who care not only about taking children out of wars but also about taking wars out of children." —The Honorable Landon Pearson Senator, Canadian Parliament "Children are frequently one of the unintended casualties of war, but they are also resilient in so many ways, a hopeful spirit, and a reminder of a better world to come. In Emmy Werner's inspiring account of wartime children amidst the deadliest conflict of aD time, we encounter remarkable examples of these human qualities—as war breaks out in Poland, living through the terror of night bomber attacks in London, and urgent evacuations from devastated cities. May this book spur efforts for peace." —Glen H. Elder, Jr. University of North Carolina

Through the Eyes of Innocents C H I L D R E N WITNESS WORLD WAR II Emmy E. Werner

Wetview A Member of the Perseus Books Group

Frontispiece and images on pages 10,50, 71, 73, 76, 80, 82, 85, 90,93, 95, 97,118,119, 122, 125, 130, 131,133,136, 139,148, 151,154, 160,173,175, 178, 180, 182,186, 189,204,208,212,214 courtesy of the National Archives Images on. pages 11,18, 21, 31, 55, 120,142,143,165,171, 183,184,192, 218, 228 courtesy of the Therese Bonncy Collection, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley Images on pages 40, 41,128,134 courtesy of the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum, London Image on page 102 courtesy of Edward Koehnen, Dayton, Ohio Images on pages 193,194,197,199 courtesy of CARE-—the Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, Inc. Images on pages 202,203 courtesy of the American Friends Service Committee Archives Image on page 206 courtesy of UNICEF Image on page 209 courtesy of the Associated Press, New York, All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Copyright © 2000 by Westview Press, A Member of the Perseus Books Group, Published in 2000 in the United States of America by Westview Press, 5500 Central Avenue, Boulder, Colorado 80301-2877, and in the United Kingdom by Westview Press, 12 Hid's Copse Road, Cumnor Hill, Oxford OX2 9JJ Find us on the World Wide Web at www.westviewp.ress.corn Designed by Heather Hutchison A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 0-8133-3868-9 The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1984. 10

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For my husband, Stanley Jacobsen, and in memory of RichardJacobsen, and my mother who sent me back to school when the world I knew lay in rubble

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Contents ix xiii

List of Illustrations Acknowledgments and Credits Prologue

1

j War Breaks Out

7

2

Meeting the Enemy

25

3

Leaving Home

39

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So Far and Yet So Near

61

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Behind Barbed Wire

79

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The Schoolgirl and the General

101

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In Harm's Way

117

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Surviving the Firestorm

141