Germany’s Traumatized Kriegskinder Speak Out

A troubling question looms over the Kriegskinder, Germans who were children during the Second World War: Was my father a mass murderer? These innocent Germans carried the guilt of their nation while their families often remained silent. The New Yorker’s Burkhard Bilger , whose grandfather was a Nazi, speaks with Sabine Bode, a journalist who encourages the now-elderly Kriegskinder to speak about their unacknowledged trauma. Bilger’s new book, “ Fatherland: A Memoir of War, Conscience, and Family Secrets ,” chronicles his years-long quest to understand the truth behind his family history. This segment originally aired October 14, 2016.