The knife of parting

And, still, another part of the horror was how often mothers were separated from their children. From 'A Dead Child Speaks' by Nelly Sachs:

My mother held me by my hand.
Then someone raised the knife of parting:
So that it should not strike me,
My mother loosed her hand from mine...

The poem is here.

An incident in France:

Many of the wretched mothers of these children managed themselves admirably. Giving up their children for ever, they left with dignity. Other mothers were crazed and nearly lost their minds. One father... opened his veins and his blood splashed the cheeks of the child clasped to his chest. A mother threw herself from the window crying, 'I will not give up my child.'