ANONYMA: A WOMAN IN BERLIN

I would like to pay a tribute to "women", not to working women, working moms or moms. No; sorry ladies but you are not the subject this time.

My tribute goes to women who survived wars. To all women no matter the skin, the religion or the part of the world they live or lived.

I would like to express my solidarity and my respect to those amazing, fragile and yet strong ladies who didn't fold nor fade in spite of all the pain they suffered.

We all know about World War II, we all know about Hitler and his SS. We all know about concentration camps, but - at least in my case - we don't know that the winners of this war allowed the Soviet troupes to "use" the German women, who lived in Berlin at that time, as they pleased: like trophies or rewards, around 100,000 women were abused in this city.

Those women, no matter their age - range of rape from 8 to 80 -, were abused day and night. And nobody stopped or prevented such atrocity.

Those creatures who didn't understand a word of the language they were addressed to, had nothing to defend themselves. They had no means to resist either or to refuse. They were raped. Just as simple as that! Yes RAPED, many times by different rapists as often as those men wanted to, to satisfy their long abstinence during that long war.

Rapes and wars walk hand in hand, it is a fact and it is socially accepted as something normal, you know those things just happen and that's it, they are side effects.

Soldiers and civilians die, children and old people die, but women are raped and killed and survivors tell the story and history is fed.

The German ladies from Berlin lived in a conquered city for months, before the arrival of the Allies.

Their rights were not respected nor their conditions of human beings. They had to survive and struggle for their lives and the one of their children. They had to stay alive no matter the price, so they assumed the role of "sexual toys" or should I say "sexual slaves" entirely "devoted" to their masters days and nights and even in long orgies. Starvation can kill in many ways.

And they survived but their lives were never the same again. Some were killed by their husbands who were not able to stand the indignity of rape - poor men!!!

This sad and dreadful episode is related in a diary hold by a Berliner woman who lived in this city at that time.

"Anonyma: A Woman in Berlin" was published in 1959. The world had to know about them.

The book was not welcome at all and the indignation of the German public was tremendous.

For that reason, its writer forbade another publication until her death and she took the decision to remain forever after an "anonymous raped woman" just like most of her companions in pain did, because you know some War secrets are exclusively FEMININE.