The Unmarried Mother in German Literature, with Special Reference to the Period 1770-1800

That the problem of unmarried motherhood plays an important role in the life of the nations of the Occident is proved conclusively by the fact that before the present war there were born in Germany 177,000 illegitimate children annually, in France 80,000, in England 38,000, in Sweden 18,000, in little Norway 5,000. In the cities of the United States about 3 per cent of all births are illegitimate, which is low as compared with European countries. The extent of the divorce evil in our country counterbalances this, for out of every twelve marriages contracted one ends in divorce. It is no wonder, therefore, that the nations of the Occident have in the last decade been actively engaged in an attempt to solve this problem of unmarried motherhood.