Witness History
Witness History
'I just wanted to be white'
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November 3, 2020
11 minutes
Available for over a year
In the immediate aftermath of World War Two, thousands of children were born to white German women and black American soldiers who were stationed in Allied-occupied Germany. The mixed-race infants were viewed with contempt by many Germans and endured constant abuse and racism. Black activist and author Ika Hügel-Marshall was one of the so-called "occupation babies". She tells Mike Lanchin about the painful struggle to discover her own identity as a result of the racism she experienced growing up black in post-war Germany.
Photo: Ika as a young girl (Courtesy of Ika Hügel-Marshall)