{"id":5799,"date":"2014-11-05T14:54:48","date_gmt":"2014-11-05T14:54:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=5799"},"modified":"2014-11-06T13:22:55","modified_gmt":"2014-11-06T13:22:55","slug":"forced-adoption-in-the-gdr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/forced-adoption-in-the-gdr\/","title":{"rendered":"Forced adoption in the GDR"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is still an unscripted chapter in history books: Zwangsadoptionen<\/em><\/strong> (forced adoptions) in the GDR. Unofficially it is known \u2013 officially it is supposed \u2013 that children in the GDR were systematically alienated from their parents and, hence, fell victims to forced adoptions. None of the responsible masterminds and operators have ever confessed this practice officially but the grief and sorrow of victims speak louder than words.<\/p>\n

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Political motivation of forced adoptions in the GDR<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Kindesentziehung<\/em><\/strong> (parental child abduction) was politically motivated in the GDR. Parents were obliged to teach their children to become socialist personalities. Regimekritiker<\/em><\/strong> or Andersdenkende<\/em><\/strong> (dissidents) and people who tried to flee the DDR \u2013 Deutsche Demokratische Republik<\/em><\/strong> (GDR \u2013 German Democratic Republic) were a thorn in the state\u2019s side. Moreover, education wasn\u2019t a private matter in East Germany. The whole society had to contribute to the upbringing of a child. According to this, the state felt responsible for those children who lived in families that weren\u2019t loyal toward the state. Alienating their children from them punished citizens who tried to flee from the GDR, who stirred up hatred against the state or who slandered against it. Even making an application to exit the country was reason enough to hand out this kind of punishment.<\/p>\n

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The practices of pressure and blackmail<\/strong><\/h1>\n

The conditions of the forced adoptions were different and every family certainly experienced its own cruel story. Some children had lived with their parents for some time and came in the state\u2019s custody only at the age of 1-year or later. Other children were\u00a0stolen from hospital. The mothers were told that their newborn babies died shortly after the birth and the neonates were officially declared dead. Usually, mothers were put under pressure and blackmailed to sign the adoption papers.<\/p>\n

The story of Daniela Lehmann and her mother Regine Vaupel gives insight into the cruel practices under the East German Regime. Both are searching for their brother and son Ren\u00e9. Regine Vaupel reports that the state permanently told her that she wasn\u2019t able to raise two children because her apartment was too small and a larger one wasn\u2019t available for her. She was \u201casked\u201d to put her son Ren\u00e9 up for adoption. Some years later, the state threatened her that if she didn\u2019t spy on an acquaintance, the state would also take her daughter Daniela away from her.<\/p>\n