What were the names of Austrian children born to Soviet soldiers, and how they lived in their homeland

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Soviet troops occupied the Austrian capital on April 13, 1945. A little later, the country was divided into 4 occupation zones - Soviet, British, French and American. After the withdrawal of units of the Red Army in 1955, it was discovered: in 10 years from the Soviet military, local women gave birth, according to rough estimates, from 10 to 30 thousand children. What happened to these people, and how did they live in their homeland?

Why Austrian girls kept the fact of the birth of children from Soviet soldiers a secret

The Austrians, who in 1938 almost unanimously (99, 75%) voted for the unification of the country with Nazi Germany, lost more than 300 thousand people in World War II (including on the Eastern Front). The population, processed by Nazi propaganda, was more than hostile towards the Soviet soldiers who "occupied" their country. The peoples of the USSR remained for them "subhuman", and the Austrian society demonstratively despised their fellow citizens, who dared to enter into contact with the Red Army.

Women who were seen in relationships with Soviet servicemen were called "Russian beddings", "prostitutes", and their children became outcasts from infancy. In addition, girls who gave birth to a "Russian" child were afraid that their son or daughter might be taken away and taken to the USSR. For this reason, the Austrians tried to hide not only the love affair with the "occupier", but also the upcoming birth: in most cases, after them, the record "Unknown" appeared in the birth certificate in the column "Father".

The tragedy of "russen kind" in Austria: despicable "children of the occupation"

Austrian children, whose father was a soldier or officer of the Red Army, grew up in conditions of public contempt, evil ridicule, moral humiliation and physical abuse. "Russian guy" was the most offensive nickname, although those who called him names often did not even understand the meaning and their connection with the offensive nickname. "Russen Kind" refused to baptize, they were ignored by neighbors, and often not even recognized by close relatives - parents, brothers and sisters of the mother.

Moreover, a woman with such a child could not count on the help of the state: Austria, turning a blind eye to the problem, did not provide them with any financial assistance, leaving, in fact, to the mercy of fate. There was also no way to hope for any material support from the child's father: firstly, marriage with foreign women for Soviet servicemen was prohibited; secondly, in the event of the birth of a child or the woman's intention to marry, the “culprit”, by order of his superiors, was sent to his native country or transferred to serve in another unit.

To cope with financial difficulties, Austrians gave their children to be raised by distant relatives or childless families, less often to an orphanage. However, the main part of mothers, despite the lack of finances, kept the child with them, got married and kept the secret of the origin of their own child until their death.

By the way, the children of the allies of the USSR were treated no better. However, after 1946, when the ban on marriage between Austrians and foreign military personnel (British, French, American) practically disappeared, some couples were reunited. Some of the women, having married, went to their husband's homeland, someone continued to live in Austria, legalizing their relationship with the foreign father of their child.

When the "wall of silence" collapsed

About the "children of the occupation" they started talking openly only 50 years later, when a letter from Brigitte Rupp was published in the Viennese newspaper Der Standard. The daughter of a British soldier and an Austrian woman described the hardships of childhood, saying at the end: "We are not the scum of war - we are children who dream of their fathers to see and hug them."

The letter broke the “wall of silence”: at last they started talking about the hidden problem in Austrian society openly, without prejudice. At the same time, mutual aid groups began to appear like Hearts Without Borders, which united the children of French soldiers, or GI Trace, which brought together the descendants of American soldiers. Due to its closed nature, the USSR remained out of the reach of searches, and only at the end of the last century did the children of Soviet soldiers and officers get a chance to find their fathers who served in liberated Austria.

How "children of the occupation" looked for their fathers and how they were met at home

The beginning of the 2000s was marked by a series of publications in the media about the stories of "russenkind" who, in search of a parent, turned to the Russian embassy in Austria and the Austrian one in Moscow. They made inquiries to the Vienna Ludwig Boltzmann Institute, which specializes in studying the consequences of the war, and also tried to get information from the Podolsk Central Archives of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. With the help of official institutions, it was possible to obtain the necessary information, but not everyone was lucky in such cases.

One of those who did find a biological father in Russia was Reinhard Heninger. In 2007, he got on the "Wait for me" program, where he showed viewers a photo saved by his mother. Mikhail Pokulev - that was the name Heninger's father bore - was not only recognized: in Russia, the Austrian was expected by Russian relatives - a half brother and sister. As it turned out, Mikhail told the children about the love that happened in Austria, and the son (after the death of his father in 1980) unsuccessfully tried to find his unknown older brother in a foreign country.

Another Austrian, Gerhard Verosta, was lucky to meet his father during his lifetime. True, the fact that he is half Russian, Gerhard learned only at the age of 58 from television journalists. With tears in his eyes, the elderly "child" recalled: "It is an indescribable feeling to be able to hug your dad, after so many years!" According to Verosta, when he visited Russia, Russian relatives did not allow him to stay at the hotel: they vacated a room with a bed for the guest, and they themselves spent the night on the floor during the Austrian’s stay in Russia.

Maria Zilberstein also told about Russian cordiality, who, after a long search, found the village where her father Pyotr Nikolaevich Tamarovsky lived. Unfortunately, she did not manage to find him alive, but Maria met her half-brother Yuri. “The new relatives were very happy to me! - the woman said with a smile. “They greeted me as a dear guest, with a table that was just full of treats!”

During the war, the Nazis committed many egregious crimes. Their ideology prescribed to change the world, the established order. And they even swung at the sacred - children. The Nazis turned Soviet children into Aryans, and after the defeat of Germany, this had very negative consequences.