Figure 1.--Players in the bombing game "Bombers Over England" are given points for hitting British cities. It is a form of bagatelle or primitive pinball. The players score points for bombing British cities, shipping or lighthouses. This game is particularly notable in that here the targets were civilians and not not military forces. Note the German planes have the cross emblem and not the swastica. I recall having a marble shooter game like this about 1950, although it did not have a war theme.

An interesting topic concerning the World War II home front is how children played during the War. A favorite with many children is board games which they can play with their friends. We have found some information about board games that were marketed and sold in Germany. The games surfaced during a 2007 auction in Britain. (NAZI items can not be sold in Germany.) We are not sure who manufactured them. The board are fairly slickly done so it would have been an established company. We have noted quite a few different games with a variety of themes. The ones we have found are about the U-boat campaign in the North Atlantic and bombing Britain. There was another about German paratroopers. The one that especially struck us was the one about bombing English cities. We do not know when the games were manufactured, We think they were produced fairly early in the War, in part because th Allies won both the Battle of Britain and the Battle of the Atlantic. We doubt the Germans would have produced games about losing campaigns. We know of no games about the campaign in the East, presumably because it turned into a disaster. These games are quite rare. We are not sure how popular they were during the War. We suspect that they declined in popularity as the War turned against Germany. We are not sure how popular thesegames were. Very few seem to have have survived the War. But that does not mean that they were not made and purchased in quanyity. Given the nature of the games, they were clearly made for children.

War Theme Board Games

We have found some information about board games that were marketed and sold in NAZI Germany during World War II. Some had war themes like bombing England. This is interesting given that revisionist historians criticise the Allies strategic bombing campaign. It is interesting to note that the Germans had a very different opinion ob bombing--y\unto\il the bombs began falling on German cities. The examoles pf the games games surfaced during a 2007 auction in Britain. (NAZI items can not be sold in Germany.) If the war themed games were not bad enough, there were also Holocaust themed games. Not overting killing, but driving them out of Germany without any concern with what happened to them..

Manufacturers

We are not sure who manufactured them. The board are fairly slickly done so it would have been an established company. The bomber game has "O.R.G.M." in the lower left hand corner. Presumably that is the manufacturer, but I don't know what the letters stand for. Presumably it is the manufacturer. The 'Out with the Jews'game was manufactured by G�nther & Co. We know nothing about the compamy. These seem to be small companies taking ad vantage pf commercial opportunities created by the NAZIs. We are not sure to what extent that thegames were government sponsored or created with the idea of promoting or incuring regime favor by helping to indoctrinate the public, especially the children with government war policy.

Individual Games

We have found quite a few different games with a variety of war themes during the NAZI era. The ones we have found are about the U-boat campaign in the North Atlantic and bombing Britain. There was another about German paratroopers. The one that especially struck us was the one about bombing English cities. The Germans began bombing cities from the first day of the War. Of course when the Allies began bombing German cities, the NAZIs labeled bombing cities a war crime. Incredably, there was also a Holocaust-themed game--'Out with the Jews'. This one came out 3 years before the War. This was before the killing phase of the Holocaust when the NAZI emphasis was on stealing Jewish property, preventing any ability to make a living, forcing the children out of schoools, and driving all Jews out of the Reich. These are easily identfiable games. We are not sure how popular they were or what other board games children were playing. Parents must have approved of the games a they woulf have been who purchased them. Don't for get, it was noy just children playing these games, but parents surely played the games with their children.

Chronology

We do not know when the games were manufactured, We think they were produced fairly early in the War, in part because th Allies won both the Battle of Britain and the Battle of the Atlantic. We doubt the Germans would have produced games about losing campaigns. We know of no games about the campaign in the East, presumably because it turned into a disaster. These games are quite rare. We are not sure how popular they were during the War. We suspect that they declined in popularity as the War turned against Germany.

Popularity

We are not sure how popular thesegames were. Very few seem to have have survived the War. But that does not mean that they were not made and purchased in quanyity. Given the nature of the games, they were clearly made for children. The BBC interviewed historian Richard Westwood-Brookes about the games, "It's just like with children's books, the same reason rare children's books go for big prices - children aren't very good at taking care of things. And it wouldn't have done you much good after the war to have had these things lying around. You can be confident kids in Germany in the early 1940s were playing these games."

Significance

Historian Richard Westwood-Brookes says, "They say a lot about the Nazis, and about the German regime. Our kids were still playing trains and Meccano and hopscotch and things like that. These show how the Nazis were determined that children as young as four or five needed to get into the swing of things." These games are unlike any thing I was aware of produced in the Britain and America. Kids in Allied countries undoubtedly played war, but I know of no board games for children with Word War II themes.

Children's Play

A British reader writes, "Very interesting, missed that on the news. A internet World War II remanisence reveals there possibly were British versions [a version of "Battleships"] but I've certainly never heard of any before; certainly nothing mass produced though there were probably a number of home produced pen and paper type games as well as the typical 'war' play. After the war "Escape from Colditz" (produced by Waddingtons?) was very popular. I recall playing it in the 70s. Basically you took turns throwing the dice and moving around the board in an attempt to escape from the notorious castle prison. The British and other 'Allied' countries who had servicemen sent there are very proud of the attempted and successful escape attempts made from the the place." We note a British bombing game that was more about the difficulties experienced by the air crews and portrayed a factory as a target--"Night Raiders". Now this was an obvious fiction. There was no way tht during World War Ii that you could target a specific target at night. The British early in the War had trouble even finding whole cities at night. But it seems to us a major difference in the British and German mindset in what is presented to the children.

German Parenrs

I was born during the War and grew up during the post-War period and I never recal a World War II game. But what is starteling about the German game here is that it envolved bombing British cities meaning civilians. One wonders about what kind of parent would have bought such a game for their children and to what thought they looked back on their attitudes when the Allies strategic bombing campaign began to intensify.

Sources

"Nazi board games under the hammer," BBC News (August 20, 2007).

Created: 7:01 PM 8/24/2007
Last updated: 5:06 PM 7/22/2019