“You Are Not an Orphan”

The fifth chapter focuses on children who had been separated from their parents and were evacuated with childcare facilities. Unlike adults, evacuated children came to be seen as emblematic of the innocent war victim who had been terrorized and traumatized by the vicious Fascist enemy. Under the slogan “You Are Not an Orphan,” Soviet activists launched a campaign to mobilize the home front civilian population to help provide for these young war victims and take them into their homes. Families who adopted or fostered evacuated orphans were celebrated in the Soviet press. This reconstituted version of the Soviet family was meant to serve as a symbol of Soviet “friendship of the peoples” and the unity of the Soviet home front. In fact, the act of helping evacuated children became a way for local residents to demonstrate their devotion and commitment to the Soviet project. Yet, in these stories, evacuated children would be expected to shed their prewar identities and become completely integrated into their new families and communities. It became evident that the opportunity for true integration and acceptance was limited to a relatively small constituency and on very specific terms.