An estimated 15,000 to 25,000 young mothers gave up their children for domestic adoption after birth from the 1950s to the 1980s. This was often forced, but sometimes also voluntary. These mostly involved unmarried women in institutions such as Moederheil in Breda and Huis in de Bocht in Goirle. The committee investigating these abuses calls on victims to come forward. She is not only looking for mothers and children, but also fathers and other involved people who want to tell their story.
This is the second time this call has been made. The first large-scale investigation was stopped in 2021 by then Minister Dekker because mistakes had been made. For example, there were errors in interview reports and mothers and children were not allowed to read their own reports. Hundreds of interviews were subsequently destroyed.
The new research committee is led by emeritus professor of pedagogy Micha de Winter. He previously conducted research into violence in youth care. The De Winter Committee calls on those involved to come forward and extensive survey to fill in. He hopes that some have even saved their stories and still want to send them in.
The committee is looking for these people:
- mothers who had to give up their child, whether or not under duress,
- children who have been given up
- fathers or fathers of the children,
- adoptive and foster parents,
- people who worked at transit homes such as Moederheil,
“We also focus on the fathers or progenitors who have largely remained out of the picture until now. They are now responding, but not yet in large numbers.”
The researchers want to clarify what happened between 1956 and 1984. “There are many people who previously reported that things happened that were unacceptable. We think it is important to find out and hear the stories of many people. We receive emails from people who say that they almost gave up a child under duress. But there is also a story of a girl who says that as a teenager she was raped twice by her father and became pregnant twice. giving up is the only solution.”
De Winter wants to hear all the stories to get a good picture. The intention is for the research to be completed in a year, in October 2024, but he is not sure whether that will be completely successful.
“It is complicated to gain access to the personal files of people who stayed in the transition homes. We expect that this will work out, but it takes time.”
In 2022, Omroep Brabant released the documentary ‘The Secret of Mother Heil’, personal testimonies of the Mother Heil transition home in Breda.
You can see the secret of Mother Salvation here: