Lebensborn

[Georges JEROME]

I'm the proud owner of the french original edition of 1958 (simply called "SS)
very interesting book.

Georges

[Vikki]

Peter Neumann (Newmann?) was an SS man who wrote a book entitled "The Black March." It was previously published as "Other Men's Graves" (also published in French, I believe). I read the book years ago. Neumann did a temporary duty assignment as a stud at one of the Lebensborn facilities. Very interesting. He and his mate produced a child.

Before accepting either Neumann's book, his service in the SS, or the "experiences" he recounts as gospel, take a look at some of the earlier references to the subject on the Forum. The discussions collected by Durand in this thread should give you an idea of the controversy surrounding The Black March---on subjects even apart from the Lebensborn:

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=59345


Here are a few from Feldgrau that you might also find interesting:

http://www.feldgrau.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5391

http://www.feldgrau.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5542

http://www.feldgrau.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6271


~FV

[Georges JEROME]

after research, I can confirm that "SS " was a (good) fiction book written by the french author Claude RANK (specialised in spionage romans) who used 2 pennames : Claude DARVILLE alias Peter NEUMANN

therefore in 1958 Claude RANK abused the readers in showing his book as historical with pics of the Waffen SS.



Georges

[Vikki]

Merci, c'est comme je pensais.

And you're right, it is a great novel!


~FV

[swordofthelord]

I had a aunt in Fürth/Nürnberg who worked as a nurse/handmaid at the one by Munich and briefly told me about her experiences which conflict with the accepted version of these homes.

[PAK]

I had a aunt in Fürth/Nürnberg who worked as a nurse/handmaid at the one by Munich and briefly told me about her experiences which conflict with the accepted version of these homes.

What do you consider as the "accepted version", I know that Wikipedia should be taken with a grain of salt regarding history, but they have some information which might be interesting. Especially that a lot of not well researched stories about Lebensborn were published.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebensborn

After the Second World War it was widely reported that the objective of the program was to establish housings where the Nazi regime would breed, through copulation, racially pure humans to create a strong race of Aryans. In reality, evidence of such plans has never been found.

[monikqe]

Hello

I have just read book written by Schmitz-Köster Dorothee “Deutsche Mutter, bist du bereit...” (it is available in polish, I don`t know If it possible to read it in english) , in my opinion it`s very good book. Author concentrates attention on “Heim Friesland”, which is one of Lebensborn’s house. We learn about organisation, programmes for women living in the house.
The second book, which is absolutely worth to recommend is Alojzy Twardecki “Szko³a janczarów” – it’s polish book, so subtitle is polish. I know that there is german book about Twardecki, too. K.H. Huber “Jugend untern Hakenkreuz”. Why Twardecki is so interesting person? Because he was one of kidnapped children from Poland. He was just a liitle boy (about 4 years old) when he was kidnapped. He was transported to one of Lebensborn’s houses. Germans kidnapped a lot of children, of course not every was kidnapped. Children had to meet racial requirements. In Lebensborn children were tranformed into Germans children.
Twardecki didn`t know that he is Pole. He was addopted by German family and brought up as a German. His foster parents didn`t know that he is Pole, too. After war his true mother found him. He got a shock when he found out the truth. He couldn`t believe, he denied the truth, he hated so much Poles... He decided to go to Poland and face up the reality. He stayed in Poland, he is famous for working for polish-german reconciliation...

monikqe

[Vikki]

Welcome to the Forum, and to the Women in the Reich section, monikqe! And thanks for the information on the books.

Below are some links to other Forum threads on the Lebensborn. I've listed a couple that especially have information on Polish children adopted by Germans through the program.

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 9&start=15
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=5848
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=8281

~Vikki

[monikqe]

Thank you for links!

In Third Reich children were so important for future, but not every was wanted. Sometimes women in Lebensborn (who were very carefully selected) gave birth disabled child. Unfortunatelly very often such children were killed. Very often children were transported to health centre in Görden. Children had injections (morphina) or special tablets. Tranquiillizers put children in stupor, numbness. Then many of them had pneumonia (without medical treatment = death).
I think that Görden was not the only one place were something like that was happened. Have you ever heard read about different places? If so, please give me some information.
Mothers who gave birth disabled children were sometimes sterlized. Of course women who were SSmans’ wives were treated in different way.

[Vikki]

You're welcome. If you search the topic on the Forum, you'll find many, many more of them (although the quality of the information in them varies widely).

Sometimes women in Lebensborn (who were very carefully selected) gave birth disabled child. Unfortunatelly very often such children were killed. Very often children were transported to health centre in Görden. Children had injections (morphina) or special tablets. Tranquiillizers put children in stupor, numbness. Then many of them had pneumonia (without medical treatment = death).

Mothers who gave birth disabled children were sometimes sterlized. Of course women who were SSmans’ wives were treated in different way.

Is this information from the books you mentioned above? If so, do the books give sources for it? And by sources, I mean primary sources, original documents from the period. Many of us would be interested in knowing what they are.

Best,
~Vikki

[monikqe]

Is this information from the books you mentioned above?

This information comes from Dorothee Schmitz-Köster “Deutsche Mutter, bist du bereit...”, page 172 – 175.
It is said that the information comes from Lebensborn’s archive. In archive is a letter to Gregor Ebner from “Heim Wienerwald” manager. He writes that “baby with mental deficiency” has to be transported to viennese caring centre Am Spiegelgrund, because this centre “works according to idea of elimination”. This information was found in Lebensborn’s files by Georg Lilienthal.

So, I know about two places: Görden and viennes caring centre. Do yo have any information about others?

I am going to read everything what is here about Lebensborn - I saw that there is a lot!

Best,
monikqe

[Vikki]

Other sources argue that the kidnapping and resettlement of non-German children was the work of other elements of RuSHA, and that the Lebensborn organization itself had very little to do with such programs. As I pointed out recently in another thread on the topic, many modern authors lump incidents and practices that had nothing to do with the Lebensborn under the organization's heading.

The following is from "Opinion and Judgement" in Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10. Vol. 5: United States v. Ulrich Greifelt, et. al. (Case 8: 'RuSHA Case'), US Government Printing Office, District of Columbia: 1950. The full text, including details regarding how the Tribunal came to these conclusions about the Lebensborn, are quoted here:

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=56438

The Lebensborn society existed long prior to the outbreak of hostilities. This society was primarily a maternity home. Included in its activities, before and during the war, was the placing of children born in the maternity homes in foster homes.

Evidence produced by the prosecution discloses that since the cessation of hostilities, IRO, an agency engaged in tracing foreign children brought into Germany, has located approximately 10,000 foreign-born children in the American Zone of Germany. Of this number, according to the prosecution's evidence, Lebensborn had been connected with only 340 in any manner.

It is quite clear from the evidence that the Lebensborn Society, which existed long prior to the war, was a welfare institution, and primarily a maternity home. From the beginning, it cared for mothers both married and unmarried, and children, both legitimate and illegitimate.

The prosecution has failed to prove with the requisite certainty the participation of Lebensborn, and the defendants connected therewith in the kidnaping program conducted by the Nazis. While the evidence has disclosed that thousands upon thousands of children were unquestionably kidnaped by other agencies or organizations and brought into Germany, the evidence has further disclosed that only a small percentage of the total number ever found their way into Lebensborn. And of this number only in isolated instances did Lebensborn take children who had a living parent. The majority of those children in any way connected with Lebensborn were orphans of ethnic Germans. As a matter of fact, it is quite clear from the evidence that Lebensborn sought to avoid taking into its homes, children who had family ties; and Lebensborn went to the extent of making extensive investigations where the records were inadequate, to establish the identity of a child and whether it had family ties. When it was discovered that the child had a living parent,
Lebensborn did not proceed with an adoption, as in the case of orphans, but simply allowed the child to be placed in a German home after an investigation of the German family for the purpose of determining the good character of the family and the suitability of the family to care for and raise the child.

Lebensborn made no practice of selecting and examining foreign children. In all instances where foreign children were handed over to Lebensborn by other organizations after a selection and examination, the children were given the best of care and never ill-treated in any
manner.

It is quite clear from the evidence that of the numerous organizations operating in Germany who were connected with foreign children brought into Germany, Lebensborn was the one organization which did everything in its power to adequately provide for the children and protect the legal interests of the children placed in its care.

[mintghost]

the steinhoring maternity canter in upper bavaria..it was surrounded by high walls.

two student nurses bottle feed infants at one home. most mothers preferred to breast feed to lengthen their stay at the comfortable Lebensborns

Sunlit nursery in SS Lebensborn in Bavaria (not sure where in bavaria)

An SS infant is named (in name ceremony i mentioned in the "aryan baby factory" thread ) before an altar topped by hitlers picture.

a student nurse called a "little blond sister" wheels a pram into the sunlight. Student nurses were carefully screened they were told they had to " fulfill a lofty duty to the nation" ( i don't know if the last part is true...i am just copying the accompanying text in book.)


SS officers have a social with the local German womens league.




Sorry these aren't great(crooked*_*).. the pictures were two page spreads.

[patrynius]

I'm looking for lists of Houses of lebensborn

We have little list here on our polish portal
http://www.dws.xip.pl/reich/ss/leben.html

I also compare it with http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=3108 (where is much more) is this list more or less complete??
especially I'm interesting in this placed in ocupied Poland - there information about plans only - as I know there were smth in Poznan (Posen).

regards

[faf_476]

Well, eventough that they are huge, It is till nice.

thanks or posting.