Children's War

French children experienced war through absence, deprivation, and premature responsibility. Fathers vanished overnight; many never returned. Schools became hospitals or barracks. Teachers—often women replacing mobilized men—struggled to maintain education while incorporating war propaganda. Children learned geography through battle maps, arithmetic through casualty statistics.

Urban children faced different challenges than rural ones. In Paris, air raids sent families scrambling to cellars. Food shortages meant constant hunger. Children queued for hours outside bakeries, often returning empty-handed. Games reflected war's omnipresence—boys played "French and Germans," while girls nursed doll "wounded soldiers."

Rural children became essential workers. Eight-year-olds minded livestock; twelve-year-olds drove plows. School attendance plummeted as agricultural demands took precedence. A school inspector in Corrèze reported: "Of 847 enrolled pupils, rarely do 200 attend. The others work fields, tend animals, care for younger siblings. Childhood has become an unaffordable luxury."

War orphans faced particular hardship. By 1918, 600,000 French children had lost fathers. The state, overwhelmed, provided minimal support. Private charities, often run by war widows, established orphanages. The "Pupilles de la Nation" program, created in 1917, designated state wards, but resources remained inadequate. Many orphans left school early, entering factories or domestic service.

Children's psychological trauma went largely unrecognized. Nightmares, bedwetting, aggressive behavior increased dramatically. Dr. Georges Dumas, studying "war neurosis" in children, noted: "They have internalized adult anxieties. Every airplane means bombing, every official telegram means death. We have stolen their innocence and given them fear."