B.Z. Brides
EVERY year, in the British Zone of Germany, a few hundred army lads take German girls to be their wives. It is surprising how short-lived was the British policy of non- fraternisation immediately after the cessation of hostilities, and how soon after " fratting " was first countenanced the first Anglo- German marriages were sanctioned. B.Z. brides have never enjoyed the same publicity as was accorded to G.1. brides. That is because there is nothing glamorous about them, and not a little that is sordid. Nevertheless, we should know something about them. Who are they? Where do they come from? Why do they marry British troops?
And what of the soldiers? How old are they? Do they really get to know these girls before marrying them? What guidance is given to them? Finally, how do these B.Z. marriages work out? It is impossible, or at least rash, to generalise in these matters. In one case a reliable fellow will choose a suitable wife, and a happy life-partnership will follow. In another instance the outcome may be far from ideal. Probably more than half these marriages are successful, but that is not saying much Further- more, the oldest B.Z. marriage is not yet five years old.
Let us visit a town of Western Germany near the border c.f the Russian Zone. Many homeless girls from Eastern Germany arrive here every day. They are refugees, hoping to find a better life on this side of the Iron Curtain than they did on the other side. They arc desperately poor ; they have no home and very few possessions to call their own ; they have no means of com- munication with friends and relations in Eastern Germany. Their one desire is the security of their own homes, however mean. Honest work is hard to find, especially for the refugee. To avoid starvation they are often faced with the bare alternatives of marriage and prostitution. The majority of these girls prefer marriage, but it is not to be had for the asking. Consequently, many are forced to take to the streets who would prefer to live respectable lives.
Contrasting with this group there are decent, domesticated girls who have always lived here. They have a home, they have their family, and they have some sense of security. Unless they have a very unhappy home-life, they will not seek marriage until they meet the man with whom they wish to spend the rest of their lives. It is natural that the best sort of German girl ill want to marry a German, in the same way as the majority A English girls choose men of their own country. Thus the local marriage-market for the British soldier consists largely of home- less refugees and the sort of local girls who are not likely to make good.
In a unit of 600 men in this town there have been 37 B.Z. marriages in the last three years. There have been a good many more applications to marry which, for one reason or another, have subsequently been withdrawn. Fourteen of the husbands and fourteen of the wives have been under twenty-one years old on their wedding-day. At least half these Friiulein are refugees or war-time evacuees in search of a home ; the rest are local residents. It is very difficult for a young English soldier to get lc know a German well. We judge our own people by their appearance, the way they speak and the way they behave. But a German will dress differently, may speak little or no English, and has been brought up to a different system of social con- ventions. The English soldier has no standards by which to judge the foreign girl except the standards of his own people ; and these may be unhelpful or even misleading.
english soldiers in Germany who apply to marry German nationals have usually known their girl-friends between three and trine months. Occasionally it is a longer time ; frequently it is shorter. The regulations provide that the marriage cannot take place until at least six months after the application to do so. Furthermore, the soldier must, during these six months, spend a full three weeks with his family in England so that he can acquaint himself with their views on the matter. It also gives him an opportunity to look at things from another angle. Until recently these marriages had to be made separately under German and British law. This sometimes created tremendous difficulties, for the couple were first married under German law, a ceremony which was legally binding upon the girl, but not on the husband. if he then changed his mind, he was under no obligation ta support the girl. She, however, had to go through divorce pro- ceedings before she was free to marry again. Today marriage under German law alone is sufficient, and such marriages are legally binding on both parties. In some parts of Germany specially experienced social workers are appointed to deal with all Anglo-German marriages in their area. Frequently it is a woman, who may be German or English, and she acts as friend and adviser to the young couples. She can do splendid work in dissuading the over-young and the over- hasty from taking rash steps. But in most places, it must be confessed, there is no such arrangement. Marriage application papers are issued on demand, and are forwarded with the com. manding officer's approval or disapproval. Only the Commander. in-Chief, Rhine Army, has the authority to refuse an application, and this he rarely does. The records of this unit show that in 1948 a nineteen-year-old soldier was permitted to marry a twenty- year-old war-time evacuee who already bad a child aged 41 years.
Or. the face of it, these marriages appear to be too easy, and recent legislation makes them easier still. The immediate re- action is to discourage them ; place more stumbling-blocks in the way ; prolong the waiting-period. Here we come up against facts which we should prefer to ignore. In the earliest days of B.Z. marriages almost 100 per cent. of the brides were already pregnant when their applications for 'marriage went in. Even now this figure is above 50 per cent. Of the 37 B.Z. brides mentioned earlier, thirteen were pregnant, and nine already mothers, on their wedding-days. With a minimum waiting-time of six months, most of the babies are born in wedlock. If it was extended, this would no longer be true. The Germans do not regard illegitimacy quite as seriously as we do, but we cannot solve the problem by sliding down the moral scale.
If we take the view that an illegitimate baby is better than an unhappy marriage, there are further complications. Since the parents are not married, the child is not a British subject, and the British do not therefore regard it as their responsibility. On the other hand, the Germans, knowing the father to be British, regard the baby as no concern of theirs either. This is not an armchair argument. Before food-rationing stopped in Germany these babies were liable to go hungry because nobody felt responsible for providing rations. They have died because nobody felt responsible for giving medical attention. They and their mothers have been turned out on to the streets because nobody felt responsible for giving them a home. And so to discourage such a marriage is to create untold problems for the child that is to be born. To encourage it is to sponsor a partner• ship which is very liable to turn out a failure. Recently a new complication has arisen. B.A.O.R. Servicemen with German wives are volunteering for service in Korea. Cynics may suggest that this is a reflection on the man's domestic happiness, but that is ungenerous and irrelevant. But the posi- tion of the wives is untenable. They cannot accompany their husbands to Korea ; it is improbable that they would wish to. They cannot remain in army quarters after their husbands have been posted. If they remain in Germany, it is as British tourists and not as German citizens. The German Government can at any time refuse them a visa, and their only means of subsistence, if they are not working, is a marriage-allowance of £75 Per annum. This yields seventeen deutschmarks a week ; at present prices, food alone for an adult and one child costs about DM 35. The only alternative course is to go to England, to their husbands' homes, where they are certain of neither work nor welcome. The problem of B.Z. brides is not just a problem of facts and figures ; nor of housing and unemployment ; nor of population and international relations. It is a problem of human happiness.
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