Dr Aisling Shalvey reviews Angeniet Berkers’ latest text, exploring birth politics in the Third Reich.
Lebensborn – Birth Politics in the Third Reich by Angeniet Berkers is an innovative response to archival absences, misinformation, and physical remnants of the Lebensborn institutions. The author blends the personal stories of Lebensborn children with photography, the author’s own reflections, and rigorously researched passages to present a fascinating overview of the Lebensborn institutions from a grassroots level. She engages expertly with the theory behind the organisation and the homes, while contrasting this with the lived experience of individuals, and the practical outcomes of such Lebensborn institutions in contrast to their original intention. The aim that Himmler had in establishing this organisation in 1936 was to increase the birth rate of those involved with the SS and to those considered ‘racially valuable’. In Lebensborn, Berker’s notes though that stigma against illegitimate children endured, and the birth rate did not raise in a meaningful way, despite the number of positive eugenic methods such as motherhood medals intended to increase the number of children. This book, while being academically rigorous, is also thoroughly readable and engaging throughout.
Berkers begins with a note on the origins of the Lebensborn organization in 1936, while interspersing archival images of official documentation, along with the Lebensborn sites today. Photography of forests evoke the aim of the organization, literally fostering new life, while the closeness of the trees make one think of the sense of loss and displacement of some of the Lebensborn children following being stolen from their families. The lack of a path in the photographs of the forest is also telling, and leads to the discussion of personal accounts later – there is no one way out of this history, there is no one unifying story, but multiple paths that this can take. Indeed, the Lebensborn survivors reflect on this multiple times throughout the book, that they did not feel their experience was indicative of the broader whole, with some survivors feeling intense shame and abandonment, while others reflect fondly on foster and adoptive parents and struggle to parse their families knowledge of the organisation with their kindness. The influence of propaganda and eugenics is cleverly integrated by the author, illustrating that the ideas of the Lebensborn institution can be understood more as a continuation of eugenic ideology rather than a brand new departure invented under Nazism.
The prominence of such discussions of eugenics, reproduction and indeed the eradication of the weak is powerfully reinforced through the integration of archival images from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC, Stadtmuseum München, and Hohehorst archive among others. The inclusion of archival material in such high-quality photographs is to be commended, bringing the primary sources to a wider audience. Publication of heredity tables, as well as propaganda images of cutting down weak trees are foregrounded to reflect on the prevalence of such messaging in advance of the Lebensborn institution. The inclusion of practical devices for determining racial belongings, such as the skin colour measurement device, head measurement device, as well as swatches for eye and hair colour are included to chilling effect. Indeed, Berkers reflects poignantly as an author on how inclusion of these objects in photographic clarity affected her ‘it was downright grim to have to touch and photograph some of the objects, it felt like I was making myself complicit in the darkest pages of European history’(Berkers, p. 262).
Berkers includes a map of Europe with the locations and names of Lebensborn institutions, indicating that this issue cannot simply be dismissed as an issue that only affects Germany – it reflects on the introduction highlighting that this issue of children born of war is a truly European phenomenon that needs to be grappled with in more depth. It is to be commended that Berkers also includes the homes in Nijmegen and Brumundal that were never opened, that marks for the reader that the aims were not fulfilled, and indeed the colonising mission of such homes was not finished by the time the Second World War came to an end (Berkers, p. 45). This is foregrounded in the clever contrast of the images of such Lebensborn homes while they functioned with the state of such homes today – indeed, it was a surprise that many of these homes are still in use in the present day, albeit for different purposes. The role of women, while central to that of the Lebensborn institutions, is reflected upon as one that was profoundly unequal. Berkers notes that the stigma and social exclusion of unmarried mothers endure in the home, while reflecting on the shifting dynamic of day to day life within the homes changed over time (Berkers, p. 67). The final part of the book is dedicated to the lives of children from Lebensborn homes, grounded in oral history interviews conducted by the author.
These interviews can be used as an example of best practice, as it foregrounds not only the experience within these homes, but also the lived experience of the individual, and presents their story on their own terms. Berkers notes the importance of this task in her conclusion, stating ‘I realised that it’s grim, too, when no one wants to listen to your story genuinely because it’s said that you’re “from the wrong side of history.”… I believe that these people have a right to tell their stories and to be seen and heard (Berkers, p. 263).’ She reflects that by nature, the children are innocent and should be listened to, and this fact motivated her. Anonymisation is followed where requested, while those who wished to be more forthcoming were given ample space to do so. The inclusion of family photographs, as well as the moment of realisation of something being ‘wrong’ is profoundly affecting for the reader. The diversity of stories, ranging from familial reunion, to that of exclusion, confusion and loss, are moving and illustrate to the reader some of the variety of possible outcomes for these children.
This book powerfully details the rise of the Lebensborn homes, along with the social movement that accompanied it. This study is well rooted in archival documentation as well as the current academic literature, while also paying attention to the oral history and lived experience of children from these homes. Berkers notes that given the frequency of changing names, the lack of birth certificate documentation, and the falsification of documentation for the children, those who found out about their origins are in the minority. Indeed, while the issue was raised at the Nuremberg trials, the extent was understated, and indeed did not lead to direct compensation or acknowledgement of the children that were personally affected. Berkers concludes with a note of thanks to those who shared their stories, and reflects that ‘everyone seeks love, recognition and security in their lives, in many post war families the legacy of war was not often spoken about at home. I sincerely hope that this book fuels the conversation within families and beyond. That we can together explore the key areas between these extremes and try to find similarities so that we can find each other again’ (Berkers, p. 263).
The book convincingly details the Lebensborn organisations, while also giving space to tell the stories of those who were personally affected. As the author notes in the conclusion, the space given to the ‘grey area’ of the Lebensborn children is pertinent here, and in telling these rather unresolved stories, the reader is given an indication of these archival absences. This is an important reflection not only for the general public, but also researchers, who can be reassured that not having all the answers should not preclude you from telling the story of those who experienced it, particularly when reinforced with oral histories. The thoughtful spaces where the author’s photography is presented without text is a welcome moment to take a breath, acknowledge those who could not tell their stories, and indeed acknowledge thet archival absences that we are faced with. Berkers’ work here is an emotive, impressing, considerate and academically rigorous book which can be highly recommended to all.
About the Author:
Dr Aisling Shalvey finished her PhD at the University of Strasbourg in 2021, which was funded by the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah in Paris. She worked as a postdoctoral researcher and project coordinator with the German National Academy of Science and Medicine at the Leopoldina on a project concerning brain research during National Socialism, which was funded by the Max Planck Society. She is also vice – chairperson in the COST Action project HIDDEN concerning the history of identity documentation and migration. Her first book entitled ‘Paediatrics In The Reichsuniversität Straßburg Children’s Medicine at a Bastion of Nazi Ideology’ was published in 2023 with Exeter University Press. Aisling is currently working at Maynooth University history department. She will start a Marie Sklodowska Curie fellowship this summer at University College Cork on the topic of postwar migration and health advocacy. You can find her @ashshalvey.bsky.social.
References:
Berkers, Angient (2024). Lebensborn: Birth Politics in the Third Reich. The Eriskay Collection.
