A Child from Abroad - by Silke Hackenesch (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The untold history of Afro-German children adopted by African American families after World War II

In the aftermath of World War II, hundreds of Afro-German children were born to white German mothers and Black American soldiers stationed in occupied Germany. Many were placed in orphanages. Beginning in the late 1940s, African American families in the United States adopted these children, creating one of the earliest large-scale waves of transnational adoption in modern history.

Drawing on archival records from Germany and the United States, Black press coverage, military correspondence, and personal testimonies, A Child from Abroad reconstructs how these children became the focus of debates about race, democracy, citizenship, and family during the early Cold War. At a moment when the United States claimed global leadership of the "free world," the presence of mixed-race children in defeated Germany--and their adoption by African American families--exposed the contradictions of segregation at home and racial ideology abroad.

By placing adoption at the center of Cold War and civil rights history, Silke Hackenesch reveals how seemingly private family decisions were deeply political acts. African American adoptive parents challenged racial boundaries, reimagined kinship, and asserted claims to belonging that transcended national borders. At the same time, German officials, U.S. military authorities, and international welfare organizations struggled to define the racial and national status of these children.

Ultimately, A Child from Abroad offers a new perspective on postwar Germany, the global dimensions of Black freedom struggles, and the enduring politics of race and belonging.

Review Quotes

"A Child from Abroad is a remarkable achievement--beautifully written, deeply researched, and historically groundbreaking. As someone whose own life story opens this volume, I am profoundly moved by the care, integrity, and scholarly rigor with which Silke Hackenesch reconstructs this overlooked history. Through meticulous research and compelling storytelling, she restores visibility to Black German children and the Black American families who embraced them, illuminating a pivotal chapter in the history of transnational adoption, civil rights, and the African diaspora. This is an essential work that will inform, inspire, and endure."-- "Rosemarie Peña, Founder and President, Black German Heritage & Research Association"

"Hackenesch brings the little-known history of Black German children adopted into U.S. homes and embeds it within a complex landscape of shifting social welfare norms, media representations, domestic racial politics, and Cold War geopolitics. With fine-grained attention to a range of archival sources, A Child From Abroad brings keen insights into the political and social forces that created the first generation of transnationally adopted "mixed-race" children. This text will be a key resource for scholars of critical adoption studies, American civil rights in the postwar era, and social welfare history."-- "Eleana Kim, author of Adopted Territory: Transnational Korean Adoptees and the Politics of Belonging"

About the Author

Silke Hackenesch is Associate Professor at the Institute of North American History at the University of Cologne, Germany. She is the editor of the volume Adoption Across Race and Nations: U.S. Histories and Legacies and board member of the Journal of Adoption & Culture.