17 Haunting Historical Photos Of Children At Play During Wartime

One of the worst aspects of war is the devastating effect of the fighting on the lives of children. While bearing no responsibility for the conflict, kids nevertheless bear the impact of trauma and violence on an unconscionable scale.

Even today, with international laws and conventions in place to protect the rights of children in conflict, too many kids are still suffering. An estimated 14 million children are currently living through hardship caused by war in Iraq and Syria, according to the United Nations.

Conflict threatens not only the health and happiness of the young, but also their ability to experience the feeling of childhood. The photos below show, however, that the desire to play unites children during wartime, across the world and throughout history.

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A young boy plays on a tank in the Sarajevo neighborhood of Grbavica, April 22, 1996.

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Children play on the bomb sites and wrecked tanks in Berlin, in the aftermath of the fighting in the city in 1945.

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Palestinian children play among the debris of houses, destroyed during Israeli airstrikes, in the Shujaiyya neighborhood of Gaza City, Jan. 6, 2015.

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London children wear their gas masks as they skip in the park at their temporary homes on the south coast of England in 1940.

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Syrian kids play in a destroyed car in center of the Syrian town of Kobani (Ayn al-Arab), Feb. 18, 2015. The town had just been freed from Islamic State forces.

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Young girls play with their dolls in a Munich street unhindered by the collection of shells in front of their house.

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Children play on a damaged carousel in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, Jan. 8, 2015

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Small children in a playground wearing their gas masks around 1940.

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Kids playing in a yard of a destroyed building in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani (Ayn al-Arab), on Feb. 18, 2015.

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Young boys swinging from a lamp post in the midst of rubble left by a bombing raid on London during the Blitz circa 1940.

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Palestinian girls play inside their school which was destroyed during the 50 days of conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, on Nov. 5, 2014.

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Children playing in an area of bomb-damaged wasteground in Stepney, in the East End of London, March 9, 1946.

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Palestinian children play on a street in Gaza's northern district of Beit Hanun during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, Oct. 4, 2014.

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A U.S. soldier helps some children with their skipping in 1944 in England.

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Palestinian children play next to buildings destroyed during last year's 50 days of war between Israel and Hamas-led militants, in Gaza City's Shejaiya neighborhood, Jan. 27, 2015