Verdingkinder

Contract referred to in the recent Swiss history, the foster placement of children for living and education. Often the ( de facto disenfranchised by the very authorities ) Children were taught to farmers from whom they were as cheap labor force usually exploited, mistreated and abused.

Similar were in Germany from the 19th century to about 1921 mountain peasant children, the so-called Swabian children from Vorarlberg, Tyrol, South Tyrol and Switzerland also mainly covered every spring through the Alps to the Children markets Upper Swabia, provides for child labor.

History

Verdingkinder, mostly orphans and children of divorce were taken 1800-1960 by the authorities of parents and interested parties offered for sale to the public. Until the beginning of the 20th century, children were often sold at a Verdingmarkt. The encouragement was given that family, which demanded the least food money. Describe concerned that they were " sampled like cattle " in such markets. In other communities they were assigned wealthier families by drawing lots. Course Loste families were forced to take such children, even if they really do not want to.

They were mostly used on farms as serfs for forced labor, usually without pay and allowance. According to eyewitness reports of Verdingkindern they were often exploited, humiliated or even raped. Some lost their lives.

Abuses were rarely prosecuted. If such were found by the authorities, the foster parent has the right to acquire new Verdingkinder withdrawn for at least five years.

In addition to tracking the Jenischen by the organization " Children of the Open Road", whose children were themselves often hired by various government agencies and (also private) institutions, the contract is considered one of the darkest chapters of recent Swiss history. Only in recent years, the media picked up this theme more intense, after it had been displaced for a long time.

The exact number of Verdingkinder is unknown. According to estimates there are " hundreds of thousands " who were hired until the 1960s and 1970s. Before the first World War, according to the Bernese historian Marco Leuenberger in the canton of Bern hired against 10 percent of all children. 1910 to have been hired under the age of 14 about 4 percent of all Swiss children, of 1.17 million children there are 47,000.

Current situation

Today, living in Switzerland probably a five-digit number of former Verdingkinder which have often mental problems. You have come to expect from the government a public apology and financial compensation. On 12 April 2013, the Swiss Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga the former Verdingkinder asked publicly on behalf of the Swiss government to apologize for the crime committed human injustice and called the former dealing with the Verdingkindern as a violation of human dignity, which is no longer atone. In Mümliswil (SO), the Guido Fluri Foundation in 2013 opened the first national memorial for Home and Verdingkinder.

The situation of Verdingkinder was shown in 2005 in the expert report, the foster children being in Switzerland on behalf of the Federal Office of Justice. The Federal Council proposed a complete revision of the Regulation foster children, but sistierte 2011 further work.

The number of today's foster children is not statistically recorded and is estimated to be about 15,000. Critics complain that the placement of foster children partly for profit is proven by using private and is not regulated by the state. However, if the placement is done at the request of parents, this new form is not to be compared with the old contract, but rather with a family treasure.