Germanys Traumatized Kriegskinder Speak Out

Published: May 9, 2023, 10 a.m.

A troubling question looms over the Kriegskinder, Germans who were children during the Second World War: Was my father a mass murderer? These innocent Germans carried the guilt of their nation while their families often remained silent. The New Yorker\u2019s Burkhard Bilger, whose grandfather was a Nazi, speaks with Sabine Bode, a journalist who encourages the now-elderly Kriegskinder to speak about their unacknowledged trauma. Bilger\u2019s new book, \u201cFatherland: A Memoir of War, Conscience, and Family Secrets,\u201d chronicles his years-long quest to understand the truth behind his family history.\xa0\nThis segment originally aired October 14, 2016.