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On the Border

The contested children of the Second World War

University of Oslo, kjersti.ericsson{at}jus.uio.no

Eva Simonsen

University of Oslo

This article conceptualizes Second World War children of German soldiers and native women in Norway as `border children', who became symbolic bearers of deep societal conflicts. The authors demonstrate that this position had painful consequences in the personal experiences of the children, experiences that were shared with war children in other occupied countries in Europe. Being a `border child' is discussed in relation to three topics: (1) the construction of a national narrative expressing the collective memory of war and occupation; (2) the cultural pattern making the sexuality of women national property; and (3) the transformation of social and political conflicts into biological and medical terms and categories.

Key Words: boundary work • collective memory • eugenics • mental hygiene • war children • women's sexuality

Childhood, Vol. 15, No. 3, 397-414 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0907568208091670


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