- Note: the term "Lebensborn" is used in Norway to describe children of German soldiers. For this usage, please see Children of the Nazi era. This article is about the Nazi Lebensborn programme.
Nazi Germany's Lebensborn (fountain of life) plan was a human breeding plan intended to expand the "Aryan race", who were to be the new master race of Europe.
Under the plan by Heinrich Himmler, German men were encouraged to produce children with "racially pure" Aryan-looking women. The plan was adopted in 1936, and stated that every SS member should father 4 children. Unmarried mothers had the opportunity of living in special homes and receive financial support, while the children would be adopted.
The Lebensborn programme operated mainly in Germany.
Kidnapping children from occupied countries
Lebensborn officials were also involved in kidnapping children from occupied countries, e.g. Polish, Czech and French children. Approximately 50,000 to 200,000 Polish children were kidnapped, those who after examination were deemed "aryan" enough were then sent, with falsified birth certificates, to selected families, which were told for example that they were adopting children of killed soldiers. Most of those children never returned to their original families and their descendants usually don't even know that they are in some part Poles.
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