Sexual Violence Under Occupation during World War II

Soviet Women’s Experiences Inside a German Military Brothel and Beyond

Abstract

This article uses the occupied city of Rostov-on-Don (Russia) as a case study to examine the relationship between wartime military occupation and sexual violence in the German-occupied Soviet Union during World War II. In the Rostov regional archive a single file has been preserved that recounts aspects of life within a German military (Wehrmacht) brothel that was located in the city, offering rare and unprecedented insight into the inner workings of such a space. Looking at personal accounts from workers in this brothel, as well as from bystanders to sexual violence within the city, this article makes two arguments. First, it situates the sexual violence that took place within German military brothels on the Soviet-German Front within a broader framework of public sexual violence carried out by the German occupiers, arguing that sexual violence was a pervasive and ongoing part of all aspects of German occupation in Rostov-on-Don. Second, it introduces new evidence from local Soviet archives to demonstrate that women who worked in German military brothels within the occupied Soviet Union can be better understood as sexual slaves, rather than prostitutes. Finally, it briefly situates the Soviet case within the broader context of World War II, drawing connections between German-run military brothels in the USSR and the experiences of so-called “comfort women” in Japanese-occupied territories in Asia.