I saw a figure once for how many children were born to French women by German men during the occupation...I think it was 200,000. Presumably the number of French women who had affairs with Germans during this period was many times larger than the number who became pregnant.
While some of these were probably "affairs", I would assume a substantial number were rapes by the conquering forces. The Nazis had a habit of taking whatever they wanted, whether it was freely offered or not. French women would have no useful means of accusation during the occupation, and later, what's the point if the rapist was killed in battle or chased home?
> Presumably the number of French women who had affairs with Germans during this period was many times larger than the number who became pregnant.
Presumably, but remember, the German people are notable for their efficiency. ;-)
This was brought chillingly home to me about a year ago when I was taking a tour of the Normandy beaches. My tour guide was a French woman from the area in her mid-twenties I would guess. She was talking about her grandparents and she fairly openly talked about how when her grandfather was in a prison camp in Germany, her grandmother was, shall we say, occupied territory.
Then she finished by saying “Look at me. How many French do you know that have blue eyes” (she did). Quite an unforgettable moment. I think I've gotten the generational details right, but what's absolutely clear in my mind was when she talked about her eye color. All taking place right on the Normandy beaches. Eerie.