Kriegsenkel: the grandchildren of war in Europe
Understanding the invisible legacies of the Second World War across generations.
The term Kriegsenkel refers to a generation born after the war, indirectly marked by the experiences of their grandparents. These often unspoken legacies continue to influence individual and family trajectories today.
What is a Kriegsenkel?
👉 Discover a real-life example: Gerhard
A Kriegsenkel is a person born after World War II whose grandparents directly experienced the conflict.
The term, of German origin, literally means "grandchild of the war." It refers to a generation that, without having experienced the war itself, may be marked by the silences, traumas, or emotional legacies passed down within the family. This phenomenon falls within the broader framework of transgenerational memory .
These legacies do not always take the form of explicit narratives. They can be expressed through unspoken words, family tensions, or a diffuse feeling linked to an insufficiently named past.
Origin and spread of the term
The word Kriegsenkel appeared in Germany in the 2000s, when psychologists and researchers observed that the grandchildren of the generation that lived through the war shared certain questions:
difficulty understanding family silences,
need to explore the history of grandparents,
A vague feeling of responsibility or guilt,
searching for a more peaceful identity.
Gradually, the term spread to other European countries to designate a broader reality: that of family legacies linked to the conflicts of the 20th century.
A phenomenon that originated in Germany
In Germany, the Kriegsenkel issue is situated within a specific historical context.
After 1945, many families chose silence to rebuild their lives in a country marked by defeat, collective guilt, and the need to look towards the future.
This silence has sometimes left subsequent generations facing areas of uncertainty regarding:
the political engagement of grandparents,
their position during the Nazi regime,
experiences lived at the front or behind the lines,
losses, displacements and ruptures.
The grandchildren, historically distant from the conflict, now examine these legacies with a different perspective.
A European reality
Although the term is German, the reality it describes extends far beyond Germany.
Transgenerational legacies linked to the Second World War affect many European countries: France, the Netherlands, Eastern Europe, etc.
These could be descendants:
resistance fighters,
of collaborators,
of soldiers,
of displaced or exiled persons,
of civilian victims.
These varied trajectories show that the Kriegsenkel issue is part of a broader framework: that of transgenerational memory in Europe.
These stories are not just German.
They concern the whole of Europe.
👉 In France, the Netherlands, and Germany, many families still carry these invisible legacies.
Why is this topic emerging now?
Several factors explain the growing attention paid to Kriegsenkel:
Historical perspective allows for a more dispassionate analysis.
the gradual opening of the archives,
the disappearance of direct witnesses,
the need for understanding among descendants.
This is not about judging previous generations, but about understanding how collective history continues to influence individual paths.
How can we pass on these stories today?
At Rencontre Réconciliation, these stories take several forms:
conferences and public meetings
Written testimonials (eBooks)
readings and intergenerational exchanges
educational projects in schools
The role of Reconciliation Meeting
The Rencontre Réconciliation association contributes to:
to raise awareness of the reality of the Kriegsenkel in France,
to promote Franco-German dialogue,
organize conferences and webinars,
to publish stories based on testimonies,
to support a peaceful transfer of power between generations.
Through its actions, the association seeks to link individual history and European history, in a spirit of mutual understanding.