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'I just wanted to be white'

How thousands of children born to African-American fathers and white German mothers at the end of WW2 faced rampant racism in post-war Germany.

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 HΓΌgel-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 HΓΌgel-Marshall)

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9 minutes

Last on

Tue 3 Nov 2020 18:50GMT

Broadcasts

  • Tue 3 Nov 2020 08:50GMT
  • Tue 3 Nov 2020 12:50GMT
  • Tue 3 Nov 2020 18:50GMT

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