Dutch Children of African American Liberators : Race, Military Policy and Identity in World War II and Beyond

Preface
One -War Babies
Two-Social Reality, Military Policy
Three-Liberation and Slavery
Four-Aftermath
Five-Margraten
Six-Limited Service
Seven-Liberation Children
Eight-In England
Nine-Out of England
Ten-Occupation Babies
Eleven-Adulthood
Twelve-Settling Lives
Thirteen-International Families
Afterword by Sebastiaan Vonk
About the Authors
Appendix: Relevant World War II Era Law and Custom for International Marriage, Immigration, Birth Status, Adoption and Assistance
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
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I was only vaguely aware of the topic of biracial 'liberation children', that is the sons and daughters of Dutch women and African American soldiers who passed through the Netherlands in 1944 and 1945...Many did not know their fathers, and they faced abuse and social alienation. This book brings up interesting questions about the meaning of 'Dutchness', about social and cultural change in the Netherlands, and the place of mixed-race people in Dutch society. The authors ought to be commended for finding so much new material and for handling a sensitive topic carefully."-Michael Douma, Georgetown University, President Elect, Association for the Advancement of Dutch-American Studies

"Dutch Children of African American Liberators is a welcome contribution to our understanding of the Second World War from a hybrid American and Dutch perspective. By means of compelling personal experiences, the complexity in which African American soldiers found themselves during the early 1940s is shown. Kirkels and Dickon not only show how segregation was shamefully maintained on American soil, but also how the complex racial relations regulated in this way entered another dimension when these soldiers were deployed overseas for the liberation of Western Europe...This book vividly sketches the often painful histories that have left their bitter traces in both countries to this very day, with children left in the dark about their origins, and with relatives and others who were ignorant or unknowing...That also points to the unfamiliarity of the underlying history, a history which in this book finally gets the attention it deserves."-Kees Ribbens, historian with The Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies (NIOD) in Amsterdam
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Mieke Kirkels is a public historian in the Netherlands, and, in 2019, was appointed as an officer in the Royal Order of Oranje Nassau, which honors Dutch citizens for their service to the nation. Her previous books have been based on research and oral history about the American contributions to her country in World War II, with special emphasis on the role played by African American forces.

Writer Chris Dickon is an Emmy-winning former public broadcasting producer, reporter and writer. He has published several books on lesser-known aspects of American history. He lives in Portsmouth, Virginia.
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