School of Historical and Philosophical Studies - Theses

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Strangers and heroes: the impact of the Second World War on children of Australian servicemen

MacCallum, Alexandra Susan ( 2011)

Australian historians have written about the Second World War. There is a paucity of literature, however, which discusses the post-war years. Few texts explore how descendants grappled with the return or loss of soldiers and prisoners of war. To understand better the impact of the Second World War on families I conducted interviews with descendants of servicemen. They revealed that while, for the most part, such children were able to live securely and happily, nevertheless they lamented that war had caused a number of problems which otherwise would not have arisen. First, fathers returned injured both psychologically and physically. Secondly, some children lamented they did not have the father they could have had. Finally, this thesis discusses the difficulty faced by children living without a father in the post-war years.