Scandal about children's sentence: trauma and abuse revealed!

Scandal about children's sentence: trauma and abuse revealed!

In the period between 1950 and 1990, over ten million children were sent to relaxation cures in the Federal Republic of Germany. Many of these children returned traumatized because they suffered from a stressful everyday life in the homes, which was characterized by eating compulsions, toilet bans and physical punishments. These grievances led to humiliations, humiliations as well as drug abuse and sexual violence. There are documented deaths in the recreation facilities, which underlines the darkness of that time. Affected people still suffer from the psychological and physical consequences of the trauma suffered, such as bonn.de reported.

An example of the difficult experiences that children had to have in these facilities is Christa Schneider. In 1958, when she was nine years old, she spent six weeks in the children's cure "Schloss am Meer" on Föhr. There she learned abuse, received laxatives, which led to serious diarrhea, and was isolated when she went to bed. Forced meals in which children like them were forced to gain weight were also part of their agony. Schneider even had to take her vomit food back. These experiences reflect what many thousands suffered through, according to Deutschlandfunk in a detailed report.

The lecture by Detlef Lichtrauter

On March 17, 2025, Detlef Lichtrauter, first chairman of the association "Referring Children's Supplements NRW e. V.", will speak about the history and the current review of the children's sentence in the Haus der Bildung in Bonn. Lichtrauter itself was sent to the "Haus Bernward" to Bonn-Oberkassel in 1973 and can therefore speak from his own experience. The lecture will also address opportunities to strengthen resilience for those affected. Interested parties are invited to register for this free lecture, whereby the course number 1404 is required, as can be read on bonn.de.

The debate about children's sentence has increasingly gained importance in recent years. More and more affected people, including Anja Röhl, who founded the "Initiative Supplement Children", bring their stories to the public. The initiative documents the grievances and calls for a comprehensive processing. Between 1949 and the 1980s, between eight and twelve million children were sent to the spa homes, often without the accompaniment of a parent, and were defenseless.

processing and apologies

The social examination of these painful memories only starts gradually. In some federal states, such as Baden-Württemberg, the first steps to deal with have already been taken. In North Rhine-Westphalia, on the other hand, one is still at the beginning: There is a working group here that contacts those affected, but there is no comprehensive list of spa homes. A feasibility study on the systematic processing of the processes has now been commissioned. In many cases, responsibility for the grievances is attributed to the providers of the homes - which consisted of welfare associations, municipalities and health insurance companies.

Affected people like Christa Schneider and Silvia Wisbar continue to fight with the psychological consequences of their terrible experiences. They do not necessarily require financial compensation, but clarification and responsibility for the events. Many of them hope that today's generation will learn from the mistakes of the past to prevent such a repetition. To this end, the German Red Cross intends to commission an external historian to examine the events in their facilities so that the darkness of that time is not forgotten.

The Initiative Supplement Children continue to gain experience and knowledge from civil research and supports networking with scientific research at universities. A congress takes place annually to present research results and promote the exchange. The reports of those affected give an idea that the effects of the children's sentences extend to the present and that there is an urgent need for action, both in terms of processing and prevention to protect new generations.