Wolf children in Lithuania – The forgotten orphans of World War Two | DW Documentary
Luise was four when she fled Königsberg for Lithuania. She was given a Lithuanian name and forbidden from speaking German.
The end of World War Two changed not only the borders, but also countless lives—like Luise’s. She was one of hundreds of what now referred to as ‘wolf children,’ who fought to survive without their parents, all alone in East Prussia and the Baltics. The mass exodus from East Prussia deeply affected children. In northern East Prussia, around Königsberg, tens of thousands of people died from disease and malnutrition. Often, the children were left behind. But without their parents, any relatives, or homes, they were had to fend for themselves. Many fled from impending starvation by crossing into neighboring Lithuania, where they begged or worked for bread and other bare necessities. For decades, their stories went unrecognized. They were too young to be considered directly complicit, but just German enough to be blamed for the crimes of the Nazi regime.
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Video “Wolf children in Lithuania – The forgotten orphans of World War Two | DW Documentary” was uploaded on 10/20/2025 by DW Documentary Youtube channel.
Heartbreaking, yet at the same time inspiring. Thank You DW.
Thank you
What suprised me about the Wolfskinder is that they could just walk trough and later live in the Baltic. And dindent sent to Russia or germany by the red army. They rounded up al kind of people everywhere in Eastern europe. For nothing but somhow dindent have a problem with te Wolfskinder.
And now something similar will surely happen to children in Palestine.
Perhaps one day someone will also tell the story of what happened in Silesia and Pomerania. About the many camps e.g. in Poland, like Lambinowice, Zgoda, Jaworze, and others. And about the tragic fate of the Sudeten Germans, or the displaced Germans from Hungary and other Balkan countries, and especially about what happened to Germans in postwar Yugoslavia. Some witnesses are still alive, on both sides of the conflict, and they tell the same story. Perhaps the time has come for this "inconvenient" truth. Only the truth can heal these wounds. We cannot remain silent on these matters, otherwise extremists will exploit it for their own purposes.
The history is repeating itself, with children orphaned in the Gaza War, but its unfortunate that despite the history being witness to such pasts, no one is talking about what will happen to them. Maybe because the German children were still Europeans, and world hardly cares about Arabs or Africans or Asians, isnt it.
We thank God for the survivors.
Humans could be excessively wicked.
What can we say about Europeans considering these things, their known history & activities in Africa?
I think that what people don't realize is the devastation Hitler and his malignant ideology brought on everyone, including his own people. He put those women and children in that situation. He put his country on a path to destruction, and then he took the easy way out because he was afraid that the Soviets would do to him what they later did to the German women who became refugees. He was a liar and a coward in every way.
Even after all these years, they are upset about being told to speak Lithuanian and being given Lithuanian names. Don't they understand that was done to protect them? In Soviet times, if the authorities found out they were German, they could have been deported to Siberia or Kazakhstan.
Sad but amazing people..
Their lives were "like heaven on earth" during world war 2 when Europe was going through man-made hell. When the war ended, their lives became hell on earth.
'Trained themselves to be invisible ' what incredibly strong individuals ❤
Many Jewish Concentration Camp survivors are very similar with food. They will always have something with them or save scraps and just say when you have been so hungry every day for years, the thought of food is never far from your mind.
Some post-Soviet or German documentaries romanticize or sentimentalize these stories, emphasizing suffering, poverty, or Soviet cruelty, but skipping the cause of that suffering (Nazi aggression).
That framing can slip into revisionism or false equivalence, making Germans appear mainly as victims, not perpetrators.
It doesn’t mean the children’s suffering wasn’t real, but it must be understood in the full moral context of who started and enabled that war.
The war stories, always rise for me the question: ' how was possible'???? I am grateful for the time of Peace in our life time!!!!
You all such brave and great people who have seen the real struggle , Euch habt großartig leben kennenzulernen , Respekt. 🫡
Weak Germany means peace in Europe.Never again stringi Germany.
First time I've heard this and I'm 60. We need to know this history, it's horrific truth. ❤
This is both extremely interesting and touching. Oh, the blessing of living in peace in the European Union.
Men are gloryfing war, women and children are suffering…
😢
🟢 Hello from Bucharest, Romania – a big underrated city in Europe.
This is why orderliness, stability and security in Germany has always been a priority since WWII. The German politicians don't understand why there will be a negative reaction by the German population to the unstability in the last decade. Every German family has a horror story. The politicians should respect the German voters decisions.
dont forget even the Germany were so cruel to Russians they made them starve to death so it's better you learn from the history that the wars are bulshit from both sides
Beautiful documentary, thank you DW