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The Silent Aftermath of the Second World War: Ethical Loneliness of Rape Survivors

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The Silent Aftermath of the Second World War: Ethical Loneliness of Rape Survivors The Silent Aftermath of the Second World War: Ethical Loneliness of Rape Survivors A German woman walking through the ruins of Dresden after the Second World War (Oestreich, 2015). Elena Grossmann Department of Global Political Studies Peace and Conflict Studies Bachelor Thesis PACS III Spring Semester 2020 Supervisor: Maja Povrzanović Frykman Word Count: 12592 Abstract This thesis engages with the issue of the post-WWII rapes of women in Germany committed by the soldiers of the winning parties that occupied Germany after the war. It asks how female survivors of sexual violence during the occupation of Germany in 1945-1949 experienced social responses towards their violation. It pursues these responses in public and private sphere and explores the effect they had on the survivors and their recovery. A qualitative method of thematic analysis is employed to analyse the material consisting of interviews based on secondary sources, empirical research done by historians and psychologists, and reliable news articles that address the issue under scrutiny. The thesis contributes to Peace and Conflict Studies empirically, by exploring sensitive civilians’ lived experiences in a particular post-war setting and theoretically, through an attempt at analysis based on the theoretical framing of ethical loneliness as developed by Jill Stauffer. It shows that the predominantly negative nature of social responses in both public and private sphere held to the condition of ethical loneliness that was a crucial hindrance for the survivors’ recovery. The issue of silence is found to be especially relevant as it pertains both to social responses and to the survivors’ own attempt at coping with the situation, thereby emerging as a key reason for the lasting experience of ethical loneliness. Keywords: sexual violence, post-WWII Germany, ethical loneliness, silence, thematic analysis List of Abbreviations CRSV Conflict-related sexual violence PTSD Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome WWII Second World War Table of Contents List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................. 3 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 4 1.1 Prologue ..................................................................................................................... 4 1.2 Research problem ..................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Research aim and question ...................................................................................... 5 1.4 Relevance for Peace and Conflict Studies .............................................................. 6 1.5 Delimitations ............................................................................................................. 7 1.6 Thesis outline ............................................................................................................ 7 2 Background ....................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Allied-occupied Germany ........................................................................................ 9 2.2 Between victims and perpetrators ........................................................................ 10 3 Previous Research ........................................................................................................... 12 3.1 Sexual violence in conflict zones ........................................................................... 12 3.2 Social responses and their effects on the survivors of sexual violence .............. 13 3.2.1 Negative social responses ..................................................................................... 13 3.2.2 Positive social responses ...................................................................................... 14 3.3 Research on rape survivors in post-WWII Germany ......................................... 15 3.3.1 Effect of sexual violence and social responses on the survivors .......................... 15 3.4 Silence ...................................................................................................................... 16 4 Theory .............................................................................................................................. 18 4.1 Ethical loneliness .................................................................................................... 18 4.2 Secondary victimization ......................................................................................... 19 4.3 Social responses that facilitate ethical loneliness ................................................. 20 4.4 The individual condition of ethical loneliness ...................................................... 21 5 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 24 5.1 Research design ...................................................................................................... 24 5.2 Data collection method ........................................................................................... 24 5.3 Material ................................................................................................................... 25 5.4 Data analysis method ............................................................................................. 27 5.5 Analytical process: themes and codes ................................................................... 28 5.6 Reflection on the choice of method and its limitations ....................................... 29 6 Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 30 6.1 Social responses to post-WWII rape of German women .................................... 30 6.1.1 Responses from the close social circle ................................................................. 30 1 6.1.1.1. Neglect ............................................................................................................. 30 6.1.2 Responses from the surrounding society .............................................................. 32 6.1.2.1. Public neglect ................................................................................................... 32 6.1.2.2. Public humiliation ............................................................................................ 35 6.1.2.3. ‘No-space’ for acknowledgement .................................................................... 35 6.1.2.4. Silence .............................................................................................................. 38 6.2 Effect on the survivors ........................................................................................... 39 6.2.1 Lasting PTSD and mental disorders ..................................................................... 40 6.2.2 Suicide .................................................................................................................. 41 6.2.3 Incapable of close relations .................................................................................. 42 6.2.4 Shame and Guilt ................................................................................................... 43 6.2.5 Denial ................................................................................................................... 44 6.3 Discussion ................................................................................................................ 45 7 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 47 8 References ........................................................................................................................ 49 9 Appendix .......................................................................................................................... 56 2 From my grandmother’s diary: “With a pounding heart we stood at the door, because we heard French cars coming and it was already 10 o'clock then we finally gathered our courage and went to endure the impossible” (Susanne Sterkel, 10th of September, 1945) 3 1 Introduction 1.1 Prologue When I was 22 years old, growing up in Germany and living there for the majority of my life, I found out that both my German grandmothers suffered from the experience of rape after the Second World War (WWII) in Germany. The perpetrators were soldiers of the winning parties that occupied Germany after the war. Even though I broached the issue of sexual violence for several years and talked openly about it, it took me years to find out. When I was searching for explanations and asked why no one told me earlier, the answer was, “you know… it was a big taboo, and no one talked about it.” 1.2 Research problem An estimated 860.000 women suffered from sexual violence in the form of rape during the occupation of Germany from 1945 until 1949 (Gebhardt, 2016:23) – excluding the estimated 100.000 women who died of the consequences of sexual violence (Teo, 1996:190). The happenings are called ‘largest mass rape in history’ (English, 2018) or ‘the rape of Berlin’ – referring to the conquer of Berlin when an estimated 100.000 women became survivors of rape within one week, committed by the Red Army (Schmidt-Harzbach, 1984:53). Even though several books,
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