Learning Platform about stolen children during the Second World War and contemporary violations of children’s rights

Using these materials, you can introduce young people, either in school or in an out-of-school setting, to the history of stolen children during the Second World War and address the topic of contemporary violations of children’s rights.

Learn more about the history of the stolen children

  • personal stories
  • contributions by experts
  • various formats: text, podcast
  • from German, Polish, Czech and Ukrainian perspectives

Discover the learning materials

  • adaptable
  • ready for use straight away
  • attractively designed
  • created by experts in non-formal education

The forced Germanization of children “of good race” from occupied Poland, Ukraine and Belarus as well as several regions of Southeastern Europe was a central plank in National Socialist race and resettlement policy.

Isabel Heinemann, academic

The victims of forced Germanization were removed from their families either temporarily or for the rest of their lives. Some never found out the truth about their origins. They grew up and lived with an identity that was based on a lie. That was something that left a lifelong mark and also had an effect on the lives of their relatives.

Pavla Plachá, historian

We were taken to the orphanage in Puschkau. There we were only allowed to speak German. I was in the second year in school, and we knew a couple of words. The children who were in the first year didn’t know any German yet. But we kept quiet because they hit us if we spoke Czech. So we were careful.

Emílie Chválová (née Frejová), one of the children who survived the Lidice massacre