Belgian Novelist Explores Dark Legacy of Nazi Lebensborn Program in New Book

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Belgian author Caroline De Mulder's novel, "Himmler’s Children," sheds light on the disturbing history of the Nazi Lebensborn program, which aimed to produce "racially pure" children to support Heinrich Himmler's vision for the SS. Established in 1935, Lebensborn included maternity homes that catered to single mothers selected for their Aryan heritage, serving as breeding grounds for future Nazi leaders.

De Mulder explores life within these institutions through intertwining narratives from three characters: a nurse, a pregnant young woman, and a prisoner from the Dachau concentration camp. The novel portrays the chilling realities of the program, including the euthanizing of infants deemed "unfit," as well as the indoctrination of caregivers.

The author emphasizes that while the maternity wards exhibited a veneer of care, they operated on the same principles as concentration camps, resulting in the systematic oppression of women and children. "Although we are shocked by the contrast…the same criminal racist program underpinned both," De Mulder remarked. Her work aims to provoke reflection on the nature of "ordinary evil" in historical atrocities.

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