Commemorative event honors the hardship endured by children with mumps on Borkum Island - Commemoration of the Suffering of Kur Children in Borkum
In the picturesque East Frisian island of Borkum, a new memorial site is set to open, marking a significant step in acknowledging and educating about the island's difficult past. The memorial site, inaugurated during the island's 175th anniversary celebrations, is a testament to the suffering of thousands of children who were forcibly sent away for treatment in the past.
The memorial site stands on the grounds of the former Adolfinenheim, a children's health resort that operated for 75 years between 1921 and 1996. The Adolfinenheim, run by deaconesses from the Diakonissenmutterhaus in Bremen until 1980, was a place where many children suffered physical and mental abuse for decades in the post-war years.
The idea for the memorial site came about in 2021 through the Initiative Verschickungskinder, an organisation dedicated to the cause. Uwe Rüddenklau, its chairman, emphasised that the inauguration is a "comma in the processing" rather than a "point". He underscored the ongoing need for recognition and healing.
The Diakonie, the Evangelical Church of Bremen, and the Diakonie Bremen have been actively committed to processing the events at the Adolfinenheim since 2019. The Diakonie, a social welfare organisation in the Bremen region, is now working to make the church and the Diakonie safe places, providing a space for remembrance and healing.
A study titled "Between Recovery and Coercion. Child Sending to the Adolfinenheim Borkum (1921-1996)" commissioned by the Diakonie will be published in 2023, shedding light on the practices and experiences of the children sent to the Adolfinenheim.
Borkum Island has a history of hosting camps for detainees and displaced offenders post-WWII under the Canadian Army Occupation Force (CAOF). This history reflects the suffering and difficult circumstances for many, including forced laborers and displaced persons from Eastern Europe.
The memorial stone, designed by Frankfurt sculptor Friedhelm Welge, will be unveiled on Wednesday. The new memorial site is a result of successful cooperation between victims, church, community, and society, serving as a remembrance for tens of thousands of children who suffered during treatment.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borkum [2] https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/borkum-beschliesst-den-krieg-a-1211896.html [3] https://www.dw.com/en/borkum-island-unveils-memorial-for-children-sent-away-for-treatment/a-58815643
- The Diakonie Bremen, as part of their community policy and commitment to mental health, has taken an active role in processing the events at the Adolfinenheim, working to make their facilities safe spaces for remembrance and healing.
- The inauguration of the memorial site on Borkum Island marks a significant step in the Science of community development and Health-and-Wellness, as it sheds light on therapies and treatments that unfortunately led to harmful practices and experiences for children in the past.
