Lebensborn
Description
Lebensborn (“fount of life”) was a Nazi programme started in 1935 under Heinrich Himmler to raise the birth rate of children the regime considered “racially valuable”. Its maternity homes supported unmarried pregnant women who met Nazi “Aryan” criteria. From 1939, children judged to look “Aryan” were taken from occupied countries — especially Poland, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia — renamed, and given to German families; around 100,000 are estimated to have been taken from Poland alone. Children born in the Norwegian branch to German soldiers, and their mothers, were ostracised after the war. The SS destroyed most records, so many of the children never learned their real identity.
Related Entities
Related Concepts
Mentions in Source
- “nazilerin “hayat pınarı” anlamına gelen lebensborn projesi, ironik bir şekilde milyonlarca insana yaşam değil; ömür boyu sürecek kimlik bunalımı, parçalanmış aileler ve dinmeyen acılar bıraktı.” — Lebensborn (Ekşi Şeyler)
- “sadece polonya’dan yaklaşık 100 bin çocuğun kaçırıldığı tahmin ediliyor.” — Lebensborn (Ekşi Şeyler)