Shocking revelations: The dark legacy of the GDR homes in Dresden

Shocking revelations: The dark legacy of the GDR homes in Dresden

Last week, the Dresden municipal clinic addressed a haunting appeal to affected women from the dark times of the GDR. The aim is to process the traumatic experiences that many women have suffered in so-called "Tripper castles". The stories of the survivors such as Jana Mendes-Bogas, which once fled from a children's home in the GDR, shed light on the extent of the abuse that took place under the regime. MDR tells that many women who ended up in these facilities, terrible Gynecological studies had to endure - and often without any medical reason.

In order to correctly understand the image of this time, it is important to devote yourself to the different types of children's homes in the GDR. In addition to homes for parentless children, these also included permanent homes for toddlers and special homes for young people that are difficult to educate. Zeitklicks describes that in the 1960s the number of places in permanent homes, from which many children were never released. Life was regulated in these facilities, and the individual needs of the children were often not taken into account. Instead, it was necessary to raise young people to the “socialist personality”, which in many cases had traumatic consequences.

Kerstin Guefroy, another contemporary witness, impressively described in her book "The Hell of Torgau" what children and young people had to go through in these homes. Her experiences are partly so disturbing that they suffer not only from the physical abuse, but also from emotional isolation and strict disciplinary measures. The educational methods that were used here were often cruel and degrading. Deutschlandfunk emphasizes that these special homes were increasingly under the influence of the Stasi in the 1980s and often collected information about the home children and often was linked.