Review by Flavia Guerrini. First published in German in: Bildung und Erziehung, 78 (2025), 1, pp-161-163.
Baard Herman Borge/Elke Kleinau/Ingvill Constanze Ødegaard (eds.) (2024): Children and Youth at Risk in Times of Transition. International and Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Studies in the History of Education and Culture/Studien zur Bildungs- und Kulturgeschichte, vol. 3. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter Oldenbourg. 317 p.
This anthology examines the social situation and experiences of children and adolescents during various transitional periods. As the starting point for the collaboration on this volume, the editors cite a shared interest in the importance of childhood as a foundational phase that influences subsequent life stages, particularly with regard to the fact that for many groups of children the recognition and enforcement of their rights are not guaranteed. The volume explores transitions at the individual level, such as the progression from childhood to adolescence, as well as transitions instigated by external events, such as parental divorce, and broader social transitions. However, it is noted that ‘[a]t the collective level, it is external events, though, that seem to pose severe challenges to children and youth; wars and conflicts, humanitarian crises, slavery, trafficking, illegal adoptions, child labour’ (p. 1). These external factors often have a profound impact on the human rights and well-being of children and young people, who typically lack control over these transitional processes.
The authors of this volume were tasked with discussing the various risks faced by children and adolescents, particularly during periods of social transition, and with exploring strategies to mitigate the vulnerabilities of the analysed groups. The majority of the contributions focus on risks that emerge directly from war and post-war contexts, which significantly restrict the survival opportunities of these individuals. For instance, these risks manifest when fundamental needs for food and protection can no longer be adequately met, when children and adolescents lose their parents or other caregivers, when they experience displacement or persecution, and especially when they are directly involved in combat or become targets of (National Socialist) war and extermination policies. This volume comprises a total of twelve contributions that investigate these risks from diverse disciplinary perspectives, including history, education, social sciences, and law.
The initial two contributions pertain to the thematic area of Researching Vulnerabilities and Implementing Children’s Rights. Julie Ane Ødegaard Borge and Ingvill Constanze Ødegaard examine strategies for the implementation of children’s rights during periods of social transition, emphasizing the importance of amplifying the voices of children and adolescents. In the following article, Ingvill Constanze Ødegaard and Elke Kleinau address the methodological challenges encountered in research involving vulnerable populations, making recommendations to enhance the quality of data and findings throughout the entire research cycle.
The second section, titled Children and Youth in World War II and its Aftermath, comprises five scholarly contributions. Wiebke Hiemesch examines the perilous circumstances faced by children in the Ravensbrück and Theresienstadt concentration camps, utilizing children’s drawings and interviews to explore traces of agency within such extreme living conditions. Kristina and Anja Schierbaum focus on the care provided by the pedagogue and care home director Janusz Korczak for Jewish orphans in the Warsaw ghetto, reconstructing the methods he employed to facilitate a semblance of everyday life for these children prior to their deportation to the Treblinka extermination camp. Jakub Gałęziowski investigates the descendants of Wehrmacht soldiers in Poland, highlighting the fundamental differences in their experiences compared to those of children from the occupying forces in Germany and Austria. He underlines the necessity of contextualizing individual experiences within historical and societal frameworks. Anne Klein’s contribution illustrates how Jewish children and youth in France successfully evaded deportation, arguing that their commitment to reappraisal and justice challenges the prevailing narrative of resistance to Nazi occupation and draws attention to the collaboration of the Vichy regime. Finally, Baard Herman Borge and Lars-Erik Vaale address the severe and often unjust legal treatment of young individuals affiliated with National Socialist youth organisations during the German occupation of Norway in World War II.
The two contributions in the section titled Reflections on the German Discourse on ‘Children of the Occupation’ emphasise the necessity of subjecting one’s own research fields to critical reflection. Elke Kleinau conducts an analysis of research from the 1950s on the children of German women and Black GIs, with a particular focus on the persistence of racial-hygienic and hereditary-biological concepts in anthropological debates since around 1900. In contrast, Rafaela Schmid reviews academic studies from the past two decades regarding the so-called ‘occupation children’ in Germany and Austria, demonstrating that a one-sided problematisation of fatherlessness has resulted in the reinforcement of ‘victim narratives’ as the prevailing interpretation.
The three contributions in the section titled Learning from the Past: Dealing with Present Day Challanges draw a line to more recent events. Martina Koegeler-Abdi examines the media representation of Scandinavian children of Wehrmacht soldiers in comparison to that of fighters and supporters of the Islamic State (ISIS). Lina Stotz’s article focuses on the evolving perception of child soldiers, shifting from viewing them as perpetrators to recognizing them as children whose fundamental rights have been significantly violated. Sascha Hein, Isabell Schuster, Julie Larran, Barış Altındağ, Maria Schriefer and Shanti D’Sa analyse the effects of a summer program aimed at assisting refugee children in navigating the transition from primary to secondary school within the German school system.
The various contributions to the anthology address central topics of the history of education: e.g. the history of knowledge about children and young people or childhood and youth, the significance of institutions and organisations of care and education for the experiences of children and young people, but also the history of education and socialisation in situations shaped by racism, anti-Semitism, and class and gender relations. Contributions that examine the problematic implications of both historical and contemporary scientific and media discourses, as well as legal regulations, are particularly significant. The construction of certain groups of children and adolescents has profound implications for the treatment they receive. For instance, ‘[v]ariations within a spectrum of […] the trope of “children in danger/dangerous children” […] materialise in media representations for children born of war’ (Koegler-Abdi, p. 257), potentially resulting in a precarious status for these individuals. A discourse of danger has hindered or delayed the repatriation of Swedish children of ISIS supporters and fighters. However, a shift in the interpretation of dangerous and endangered can be observed in the prevailing narratives concerning child soldiers: ‘Today, child soldiers are no longer seen as security threats; instead, practices of recruiting child soldiers are.’ This has led to a change in the way they are treated: ‘For child soldiers, legal recognition has contributed to the institutionalisation of a shift in narrative, framing them as victims eligible for protection instead of dangerous villains’ (Stotz, p. 288). This illustrates the potential for productive connections among the various contributions, particularly in the analysis of similar phenomena across different contexts.
One of the notable strengths of this volume, in addition to its sensitivity to the historical and geopolitical contexts of childhood and the lived experiences of children, is its comprehensive discussion of fundamental and methodological considerations. These discussions extend beyond the two contributions in the initial section to the subsequent ten articles. The anthology elucidates a variety of potential sources available for (historical) childhood research, including interviews, children’s drawings, media products, various documents, reports, UN resolutions, scientific texts, and questionnaires. Each source is critically examined in terms of its possibilities and limitations. Consequently, this anthology is not only recommended for readers interested in the specific topics addressed in the individual contributions but also for those seeking to engage with diverse and innovative methodological approaches in historical educational research. The editors acknowledge that only a limited number of contributions include positive examples. This observation underscores the ongoing necessity for research focused on the circumstances and experiences of children and young people during periods of social transition and crisis, during which their rights and well-being may be significantly compromised, both directly and indirectly.
Flavia Guerrini, Innsbruck