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The wave of rapes and sexual violence occurred in Central Europe in 1944/45, as Allied and Soviet troops battered their way into the Third Reich.<ref>Perry Biddiscombe. Dangerous Liaisons: The Anti-Fraternization Movement in the U.S. Occupation Zones of Germany and Austria, 1945-1948. ''Journal of Social History'', Vol. 34, No. 3 (Spring, 2001), pp. 611-647. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3789820</ref> The most massive the rapes were in the Soviet occupation zone; estimates of the numbers of rapes committed by Soviet soldiers range widely, from the tens of thousands to 2 million.<ref name="ElizabethHeineman">Elizabeth Heineman. The Hour of the Woman: Memories of Germany's "Crisis Years" and West German National Identity. ''The American Historical Review'', Vol. 101, No. 2 (Apr., 1996), pp. 354-395. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2170395</ref> Around 100,000 woman are believed to be raped in ], based on surging abortion rates in the following months and contemporary hospital reports,<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/berlin_01.shtml</ref><ref>Hanna Schissler ''The Miracle Years: A Cultural History of West Germany, 1949-1968'' </ref><ref>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106687768</ref> and from 10,000<ref name="Grossman">Atina Grossmann. A Question of Silence: The Rape of German Women by Occupation Soldiers ''October'', Vol. 72, ''Berlin 1945: War and Rape "Liberators Take Liberties"'' (Spring, 1995), pp. 42-63 MIT Press. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/778926</ref> to 240,000 women died in the aftermath. <ref>Helke Sander/Barbara Johr: ''BeFreier und Befreite'', Fischer, Frankfurt 2005</ref><ref>Seidler/]: ''Kriegsverbrechen in Europa und im Nahen Osten im 20. Jahrhundert'', Mittler, Hamburg Berlin Bonn 2002</ref> ] describes it as the "greatest phenomenon of mass ] in history". <ref>http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/16/1052885399546.html</ref> According to Natalya Gesse, "the Russian soldiers were raping every German female from eight to eighty." <ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2002/may/01/news.features11</ref> After the summer of 1945, Soviet soldiers caught raping civilians were usually punished to some degree, ranging from arrest to execution.<ref>Norman M. Naimark. ''The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occupation, 1945-1949.'' Cambridge: Belknap, 1995 p. 92 ISBN 0-674-78405-7</ref> The rapes continued, however, until the winter of 1947–48, when Soviet occupation authorities finally confined Soviet troops to strictly guarded posts and camps,“<ref>Naimark. ''The Russians in Germany'', p. 79</ref> completely separating them from the residential population in the Soviet zone of Germany. |
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The wave of rapes and sexual violence occurred in Central Europe in 1944/45, as Allied and Soviet troops battered their way into the Third Reich.<ref>Perry Biddiscombe. Dangerous Liaisons: The Anti-Fraternization Movement in the U.S. Occupation Zones of Germany and Austria, 1945-1948. ''Journal of Social History'', Vol. 34, No. 3 (Spring, 2001), pp. 611-647. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3789820</ref> The most massive the rapes were in the Soviet occupation zone; estimates of the numbers of rapes committed by Soviet soldiers range widely, from the tens of thousands to 2 million,<ref name="ElizabethHeineman">Elizabeth Heineman. The Hour of the Woman: Memories of Germany's "Crisis Years" and West German National Identity. ''The American Historical Review'', Vol. 101, No. 2 (Apr., 1996), pp. 354-395. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2170395</ref> with later research showing higher numbers (1.4-1.9 million). <ref>Kuwert, P., & Freyberger, H. (2007). The unspoken secret: Sexual violence in World War II. International Psychogeriatrics, 19(4), 782-784. doi:10.1017/S1041610207005376.</ref> Around 100,000 woman are believed to be raped in ], based on surging abortion rates in the following months and contemporary hospital reports,<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/berlin_01.shtml</ref><ref>Hanna Schissler ''The Miracle Years: A Cultural History of West Germany, 1949-1968'' </ref><ref>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106687768</ref> and from 10,000<ref name="Grossman">Atina Grossmann. A Question of Silence: The Rape of German Women by Occupation Soldiers ''October'', Vol. 72, ''Berlin 1945: War and Rape "Liberators Take Liberties"'' (Spring, 1995), pp. 42-63 MIT Press. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/778926</ref> to 240,000 women died in the aftermath. <ref>Helke Sander/Barbara Johr: ''BeFreier und Befreite'', Fischer, Frankfurt 2005</ref><ref>Seidler/]: ''Kriegsverbrechen in Europa und im Nahen Osten im 20. Jahrhundert'', Mittler, Hamburg Berlin Bonn 2002</ref> ] describes it as the "greatest phenomenon of mass ] in history". <ref>http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/16/1052885399546.html</ref> According to Natalya Gesse, "the Russian soldiers were raping every German female from eight to eighty." <ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2002/may/01/news.features11</ref> After the summer of 1945, Soviet soldiers caught raping civilians were usually punished to some degree, ranging from arrest to execution.<ref>Norman M. Naimark. ''The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occupation, 1945-1949.'' Cambridge: Belknap, 1995 p. 92 ISBN 0-674-78405-7</ref> The rapes continued, however, until the winter of 1947–48, when Soviet occupation authorities finally confined Soviet troops to strictly guarded posts and camps,“<ref>Naimark. ''The Russians in Germany'', p. 79</ref> completely separating them from the residential population in the Soviet zone of Germany. |
