Following World War II, thousands of children were born in Austria and Germany to local women and soldiers of the American, British, French, and Soviet forces. These children were conceived in relationships that ranged from long-term partnerships and love affairs to transactional sexual relationships and instances of sexual violence. In the case of the Western Allies, some were also born within marriages between Allied soldiers and local women.

This lecture by Lukas Schretter, coordinator of the Vienna Branch – Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on Consequences of War, explores the experiences of these children, the political and social debates surrounding their existence, and the ways in which they were treated over time. The analysis draws on archival sources, welfare office files, and interviews conducted between 2016 and 2020. Focusing on children born to British soldiers and Austrian women, the lecture also examines efforts to establish a legal framework that would allow paternity claims to be pursued across national borders. A London-based charity sought to hold British soldiers accountable for supporting the children they had fathered in Austria and Germany. In practice, however, these efforts rarely succeeded. Establishing paternity required substantial evidence, and attempts to contact the alleged fathers — or their families — often proved unsuccessful. As a result, many “occupation children” grew up raised by single mothers, without involvement from their fathers.