CRIMES AGAINST ORPHANS AND CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES DURING THE NAZI OCCUPATION OF UKRAINE 1941–1944

Abstract

The Nazi occupation became one of the most tragic chapters in Ukrainian history. The crimes of the German occupation regime affected all aspects of the life of the Ukrainian people, but its actions reached particular brutality in relation to the most vulnerable group of the population – children. At the centre of the study is the fate of orphans and children with disabilities, who found themselves in conditions that surpassed any conceivable horrors of war. The article analyzes the policy of the German occupation authorities towards orphanages in Ukraine, including the implementation of the “T4 Aktion”, racist selection practices, and coercive measures of Germanisation. It examines conditions of nutrition, medical care, access to education, and the spread of infectious diseases among children. Special attention is given to acts of violence, deportation, genocide, and the psychological traumas endured by the child population of Ukraine. It highlights the fate of orphans, who became victims of starvation, diseases, social indifference, and the devaluation of human life under the Nazi policy of “Lebensraum in the East”. It is emphasised that children with disabilities and Jewish children were among the first groups targeted for extermination. The study attempts to present a systematic analysis of the living conditions of orphans in Ukraine during the occupation, as well as to examine the social, psychological, and cultural consequences for children under the Nazi regime. Research into this issue not only helps reconstruct the scale of crimes committed against children in occupied Ukraine but also reveals their impact on post-war social and demographic development. Attention is drawn to the responsibility of the Soviet authorities for abandoning children in orphanages to their fate during the German advance, which led to mass casualties. Based on archival documents, eyewitness testimonies, and materials of the Extraordinary State Commission, it has been established that orphans were among the most defenceless social groups, deprived of basic means of survival and support. The peculiarities of orphan evacuation are also analyzed, including the selective approach of the authorities, who saved children considered important for political or ideological reasons (such as Spanish children), while leaving others behind. The study further explores the Soviet practice of post-war interpretation of these events, where victims were generalised without social or national identification, and children with disabilities remained outside the official discourse. This research is an attempt at a comprehensive analysis of the tragedy of childhood in wartime, forming of an objective picture of the situation in orphanages during the occupation of Ukraine. It also represents an important moral act of preserving the memory of the victims of child genocide, which holds significant meaning for contemporary Ukrainian society.