A million women were raped by Allied soldiers in Germany in the immediate aftermath of World War II , a new books claims . ‘ When The Soldiers Came , ’ by historian Miriam Gebhardt , is hailed as the definitive account of the treatment meted out to the defeated women of Nazi Germany which they remained silent about for decades out of shame and humiliaton . 'At the very least 860,000 women and girls - and also men and young boys - were raped by the occupying Allied soldiers and their helpers . It happened everywhere , ' begins the book . A new book claims Allied troops raped German women during the Second World War by manipulating them with gifts of chocolate and cigarettes . Above , a soldier takes a photograph of a German woman . Until now it was widely thought that only the Red Army , which advanced on Germany with rape as a weapon sanctioned by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin , committed the mass rapes upon tens of thousands of women , many of whom committed suicide . 'Soldiers of the western Allies were also guilty , ' said Mrs. Gebhardt , a renowned historian in Germany who tracked down some victims to interview them about their ordeal at the hands of Briish and American soldiers . ' I researched the book for over a year and-a-half , ' she said . ' I wanted to tell the story of what 'happened from the perspective of the victims . I wanted to reconstruct the crimes as gently as I could . ' She said the 'terrible crimes ' did not only take place in the Soviet zones of occupation - long chronicled and well-known about - but also in French , British and American sectors . A familiar slogan of the times was : 'It took six years for the Americans to struggle against the German armies but it only took a day and a slab of chocolate for them to conquer German women . ' But not all collaboration in the bedroom was voluntary , writes Gebhardt . German author Miriam Gebhardt made the claims in a new book . She said the false impression grew up after the war that German women gave themselves to western soldiers because they brought with them things they desperately needed - nylons , food , cigarettes , coffee . 'The impression grew that there was no rape in the west but rather a kind of prostitution grew up , ' said the author . But in fact countless women were raped , she said , with soldiers believing they could treat the as they wanted after bearing coveted gifts . 'Post-war society was hardly ready to differentiate between voluntary and forced sexual contact . 'Between women who prostituted themselves out of emergency needs and those who had become victims of rape . ' Added to the trauma of the western victims was the shame suffered by the children they bore from their attackers . 'Their fathers were , mostly , unknown , and the women received no financial help at all , ' said Gebhardt . She said in parts of southern Germany , occupied by American troops , there were often 'free nights ' where soldiers were encouraged to abuse women at will for up to 48 hours at a time . The alleged victims are 'relieved ' their hardship is coming to light , she added .
'When The Soldiers Came ' claims Allied troops raped million women . Children , men and young boys were also abused by soldiers , it claims . Until now it was thought only the Stalin 's Red Army raped German women . But author insists she has spoken to some who can attest to the abuse . There was a misconception all women traded sex for coveted goods . But western soldiers took advantage of power to rape , says the author .