Woman Breaks Silence On Russian Rapes 65 Years Later

Berlin - An 80-year-old German woman has broken the silence surrounding Soviet Red Army rapes committed at the end of WWII by writing a book on the horrors of mass rape in war under her own name.

Others have written books and memoirs under psuedonyms or anonymously, such as A Woman in Berlin ,the diary of a German victim and Hungarian psychologist Alaine Polcz’s book, One Woman In The War, which was written as an autobiographical novel. The Daily Mail said Gabrielle Koepp’s Book, Why Did I Have to be A Girl , is the first book since the mass rapes took place, to be published under the victim’s real name. The Mail says Red Army soldiers were encouraged by Soviet leader Josef Stalin to regard rape as simply the spoil of war after 26 million Soviet citizens died in the German invasion. Hungarian author Polcz wrote:

Russian soldiers attacked me, beat me, protected me, stepped on my hand with a boot, fed me. What were they like? What were we like? Why did they rape women knowing they possibly would pay for it with their lives?

Experts estimate some two million women were raped in Germany and other former East Bloc nations in 1944 and 1945. The number includes members of Allied countries, such as Poland. Despite widespread research into the crime, Russia officially denies it. Koepp, now 80, still has trouble sleeping and never had a romantic relationship following her traumatic experience. She said:

I wouldn't have been able to feel anything anyway. For me, sexuality was just violence.

Referring to the book A Woman In Berlin, which was later made into a film and the veracity of which has been challenged in some quarters, Koepp said:

But that woman was 30. I was hardly more than a child. Writing this has not been easy, but I had no choice: who else would do it?

According to the article, experts said women were raped an average of 12 times by the five million Soviet soldiers advancing on Berlin. Victims’ ages varied from eight to 90, with some dying after the ordeal. Describing a part of her traumatic experience, Koepp recalled:

I feel hatred rising up inside of me… The next morning, it was the women, once again, who pushed me into the arms of a greedy officer. I despise these women.

Koepp added:

I have no tears.

The young girl’s ordeal by rape lasted two weeks. The book is to be translated into English later this year.