The Children from Operation Shamrock

Historical Context, Testimonies and Fictionalized Memory Fragments
Erscheinungsjahr 2020
ISBN: 978-3-86821-876-3
Verlag: WVT Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier

Buch, Englisch, 166 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 383 g

Reihe: Irish German studies

Operation Shamrock was a humanitarian initiative that placed more than 400 German children in the care of Irish families in the aftermath of the Second World War. For most participants, the roughly three-year stay in Ireland was a positive, in some cases even life-saving experience. Some children, however, suffered strongly from the separation from their families or were mistreated by their foster parents. Based on the author’s exhibition The Children from Operation Shamrock, which has travelled extensively across Germany and Ireland since 2015, this book consists of interviews with eighteen participants as well as an historical analysis of the origins, circumstances and participants of Operation Shamrock. In addition, short stories based on real incidents yet creatively transformed add an emotional dimension to the participants’ early childhood experiences of separation and loss but also affection and healing. In-depth research, interviews and short stories combined facilitate a deeper understanding of an important part of Irish-German relations and the European war and postwar experience.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Brandis, Monica

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Preface 9

1. Context: The circumstances of Operation Shamrock and the perceptions of the German participants 13
1.1. The start of Operation Shamrock 13
1.2. The conditions in post-war Germany and the Irish invitation 19
1.3. Selection of Irish foster families 29
1.4. Arrival in Ireland 32
1.5. Life in Ireland 33
1.6. The language barrier 35
1.7. Perceived differences between Ireland and Germany 36
1.8. The return 39
1.9. Contributing factors to emotional well-being
and a sense of belonging in the Shamrock children 43
1.10. Negative factors 44
1.11. Long-term effects 47
1.11.1. Identity 48
1.11.2. Grassroots connection and relations between Ireland and Germany 51

2. Testimonies: the interviews with THE CHILDREN FROM OPERATION SHAMROCK 53
2.1. About the interviews 53
2.2. Agnes Thevis, née Hammel 55
2.3. Dorothea Cooney, née Masur 59
2.4. Eddy (Edward) Werder 61
2.5. Elisabeth McNicholl, now Elisabeth O’Gorman, née Lilli Kohlberg 65
2.6. Friedhelm Krüll 69
2.7. Gertraud Roßbach, née Westphal 73
2.8. Hans Peter Boden 77
2.9. Heidi Schwandt-Boden 81
2.10. Heinz Kampas 85
2.11. Helmi Saidlear, née Wilhelmine Hubertine Pütz 89
2.12. Helmut Robert Erb 93
2.13. Herbert Remmel 97
2.14. Hildegard Jones, née Grabsch 101
2.15. Josef Kauerauf 105
2.16. Karl-Heinz Hantsch 109
2.17. Klaus Armstrong-Braun 113
2.18. Luzie Weber 117
2.19. Theodore Edward Kavanagh, née Theodore Hermanns 121

3. Fictionalized memory fragments: the short stories 123
3.1. First Girl 125
3.2. First Boy 127
3.3. Second Girl 129
3.4. Second Boy 131
3.5. Third Boy 133
3.6. Third Girl 135
3.7. Fourth Girl 137
3.8. Fourth Boy 139
3.9. Fifth Boy 141
3.10. Fifth Girl 143
3.11. Sixth Girl 145
3.12. Sixth Boy 147
3.13. Seventh Boy 149
3.14. Eighth Boy 151
3.15. Ninth Boy 153
3.16. Seventh Girl 155
3.17. Tenth Boy 157
3.18. Eighth Girl 159

4. Sources 161
4.1. Interviews 161
4.2. Archival sources 161
4.3. Printed Sources 162