21 November 2025 - 26 April 2026

During the Nazi era, friendly and intimate contact between Germans and prisoners of war or forced labourers was undesirable. In some cases, it was strictly forbidden. But they are "still there": children born of such relationships. Their stories were long considered taboo. They have been little researched scientifically and are hardly present in the culture of remembrance. This exhibition is dedicated to their life stories.
 

Forbidden relationships

During the Second World War, around 13 million prisoners of war and forced labourers were forced to work in the German Reich. Friendly or intimate contact with Germans was punishable by severe penalties for both sides. These ranged from prison sentences to internment in concentration camps and even the death penalty. Nevertheless, children were born from such relationships.
 

The children

For a long time, many children from forbidden relationships did not know that one of their parents had been a prisoner of war or forced labourer. Nevertheless, they were often stigmatised as illegitimate children and not in line with social norms. They were repeatedly subjected to racist insults and discrimination. Many searched for decades for an unknown parent – in some cases with success.