European University Institute Library

Love between enemies, Western Prisoners of War and German women in World War II, Raffael Scheck, Colby College

eng

index present

non fiction

Love between enemies

electronic resource

dictionaries

1162211894

Raffael Scheck, Colby College

Cambridge Social Sciences eBooks

Western Prisoners of War and German women in World War II

Love between Enemies explores the forbidden relationships which formed between foreign prisoners of war and German women during the Second World War. From the desire to have fun to deep love commitments, this study examines the range of motivations which lay behind these relationships, tapping into new documents and drawing on thousands of court cases to offer a transnational analysis of personal relations between enemies. Highlighting gender roles, the contradictory reactions of the communities surrounding the couples, and the diplomatic tensions resulting from the severe punishments, this is a history of everyday life which throws light on this subversive aspect of intimacy in wartime Nazi Germany. Comparing the 'transgressing' couples to other groups persecuted for their cultural or private choices, Scheck demonstrates how the relationships were silenced or justified in the post-war memory of prisoners, while the German women, who had been publicly shamed, continued to live with the stigma, and even illegitimate children, for the years that followed.--, Provided by publisher

The Prisoners Of War And The German Women -- The Legal Framework -- The Relations -- Discovery -- The Trials -- Behind Bars -- Case Studies -- Memory -- Conclusion: Resistance, Dissent, Opposition?