Dr. Monika Hauser on the 60th centenary of the end of World War II

„It is time to speak out“

medica mondiale announces plans for human rights work addressing the situation of women who were raped in the second world war. Hauser: “It is our aim to break the silence.“

On the occasion of the 60th centenary of the end of the second world war, Monika Hauser, founder and director of medica mondiale, made the following statement in Cologne:

„60 years after the end of the second world war we are receiving more and more correspondence from women who survived sexualised war violence during this time. Clearly memories are surfacing afresh – as is frequently the case with traumatised people in old age, decades after the event. „Today is like yesterday as far as that taboo is concerned“ is what an 80-year-old survivor of rape in Berlin wrote to us.

That is why medica mondiale are organising various events this year in memory of the crimes against women which took place 60 years ago, and in this way creating a bridge to the current situation of women in war contexts.

Awareness of the brutal deeds perpetrated by the national socialists is very high this year, Media reports are numerous and diverse. And yet, sexualised violence against women and girls both during and after the war in Germany is still an issue which is covered in silence even 60 years after the end of the war. A large number of women suffered sexualised violence in the second world war. The list is long: women and girls in the countries occupied by the National Socialists or the Wehrmacht, Jewish and Roma women who were persecuted, women active in resistance and German women who were raped by allied soldiers.

Like most survivors of sexualised violence, the women concerned in Germany have also remained silent for decades. Often enough, when women actually do break the silence ordained by social convention, they are threatened, isolated and ostracised. This is why many of their traumatic experiences remain unspoken and continue to have an impact on these women´s lives – right up to old age. Unfortunately knowledge of the connections between traumatisation and its effects on health (also later in life) is still at such a level among medical staff and staff in the caring sector that many avoidable retraumatisations occur. When an old woman, screaming in an attempt to resist having a catheter inserted, uses words like „That was enough, don`t do it to me again!“ and as a result is treated as mentally ill and tranquillised with medication, then she is re-living the experience of violence.

Against this background medica mondiale is this year placing their focus on political human rights work. The aim is to draw attention to the fates of very different women and to the chapter in German history that is still tabu – and, in doing this, create a bridge to the current situation of women in war zones.

In addition to the publication of a brochure on the subject there are a number of events planned, for example a discussion with experts in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Bonn on 2 June.

Another upcoming event is a discussion forum in the NS Documentation Centre „EL-DE Haus“ in Cologne on the evening of 20 October. We also want to provide a service to women when they wish to talk to us about their history. We are planning a telephone hotline as well as chat and telephone services.

Our memorial initiative represents a very special contribution. medica mondiale will create a virtual, interactive memorial (in the internet) dedicated to all the women and girls who have been victims of sexualised war violence. The idea is that later a real memorial is to develop from the virtual one. A nationwide decentral day of events with the mm groups is planned in order to promote the implementation of the memorial initiative.“

You can find out more about our activities on our website
www.zeit-zu-sprechen.de

 

 

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