The children who lived through World War II share horrifying and remarkable experiences -- evacuations, bombings and loss of parents, to cite only a few. They survived the first modern war in which more civilians than soldiers were killed or maimed. Yet often their experiences have been overlooked, says a UC Davis developmental psychologist, who herself, as a young German girl, survived World War II. In her new book, "Through the Eyes of Innocents: Children Witness World War II," Emmy Werner, professor emerita, tells the stories of 200 children of many nationalities who survived the war, relying on diaries and other personal accounts, as well as on selected interviews with survivors, including two UC Davis faculty members. Werner writes about German and British children experiencing air raids and blackouts, Japanese American children living in U.S. internment camps, young German boys becoming soldiers, and children all over the world who lost family members in the war. "In writing the book, I'm looking for how children on all sides shared common experiences," Werner says. A longtime scholar of children's resilience, Werner also seeks to identify qualities that enabled the child survivors to lead productive, fulfilling lives after the war. "A continuing sense of purpose in life, a sense of coherence and faith, appeared to make a difference in the way children of war managed the absurdities of what they saw, both during the war and in the postwar periods of deprivation .... Over time, most child survivors took on responsibilities that were essential to the well-being of their family," Werner writes. "They looked out for younger siblings, found sustenance for their families, and took on jobs, both within the family and on the outside, that had once been held by adult males who were now absent, missing or had been killed ...." "The message of these children's World War II experiences is an extraordinary affirmation of life, and a sustaining power of hope and human decency," Werner says. Werner's book is being released this month by Westview Press.