Miriam Gebhardt is an historian and journalist who teaches at the University of Konstanz.

‘Miriam Gebhardt’s study is not the first that explores the experiences of circa 860.000 German women, who were raped by Allied soldiers in the aftermath of the Second World. But it shifts the focus from the notorious mass rape of Soviet soldiers to the members of the American, British and French forces and estimates that at least 190.000 German women experienced sexual violence by them. With her excellent study she thus challenges the common picture of the “honourable” Western allied armies.’Karen Hagemann, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ‘Miriam Gebhardt has uncovered swathes of new evidence relating to the rape of German women in the US Zone of Occupation. Her book adds a further dimension to our knowledge of life in Germany in the immediate aftermath of the war.’Giles MacDonogh, historian and author ‘A harrowing and highly recommended work of scholarship.’Times Higher Education Supplement

• ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1 Seventy years too lateWrong victims?How many were affectedSexual aggression against menA word about method Chapter 2 Berlin and the East – chronicle of a calamity foretoldThe great fearThe Red Army comesBerlinOne year onExtracts from police reportsA different perspective Chapter 3 South Germany – who will protect us from the Americans?No one’s timeModerate indignationA ‘feeling of great insecurity among our soldiers’DiscussionA ‘sexual conquest of Europe’?Unbroken assertion of power by the occupiers Parallels and differences Chapter 4 Pregnant, sick, ostracized – approaches to the victimsVictims twice overFraternizationThe abortion problemNo one’s children‘The other victims are also taken care of’First the French, then the public authorities‘I love this child as much as the others’ Chapter 5 The long shadowThe effects of the experience of violenceThe myth of female invulnerability‘Anonymous’ and the censorship of memory Duties of loyaltyFirst feminist protestsHelke Sander’s ‘BeFreier’ and the German victim debateThe past today NotesSources and selected literatureIndex

Miriam Gebhardt is an historian and journalist who teaches at the University of Konstanz.

‘Miriam Gebhardt’s study is not the first that explores the experiences of circa 860.000 German women, who were raped by Allied soldiers in the aftermath of the Second World. But it shifts the focus from the notorious mass rape of Soviet soldiers to the members of the American, British and French forces and estimates that at least 190.000 German women experienced sexual violence by them. With her excellent study she thus challenges the common picture of the “honourable” Western allied armies.’Karen Hagemann, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ‘Miriam Gebhardt has uncovered swathes of new evidence relating to the rape of German women in the US Zone of Occupation. Her book adds a further dimension to our knowledge of life in Germany in the immediate aftermath of the war.’Giles MacDonogh, historian and author ‘A harrowing and highly recommended work of scholarship.’Times Higher Education Supplement

• ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1 Seventy years too lateWrong victims?How many were affectedSexual aggression against menA word about method Chapter 2 Berlin and the East – chronicle of a calamity foretoldThe great fearThe Red Army comesBerlinOne year onExtracts from police reportsA different perspective Chapter 3 South Germany – who will protect us from the Americans?No one’s timeModerate indignationA ‘feeling of great insecurity among our soldiers’DiscussionA ‘sexual conquest of Europe’?Unbroken assertion of power by the occupiers Parallels and differences Chapter 4 Pregnant, sick, ostracized – approaches to the victimsVictims twice overFraternizationThe abortion problemNo one’s children‘The other victims are also taken care of’First the French, then the public authorities‘I love this child as much as the others’ Chapter 5 The long shadowThe effects of the experience of violenceThe myth of female invulnerability‘Anonymous’ and the censorship of memory Duties of loyaltyFirst feminist protestsHelke Sander’s ‘BeFreier’ and the German victim debateThe past today NotesSources and selected literatureIndex