Eugenics in Helenówek
In 1935, a human breeding programme was developed in Nazi Germany. Its aim was to create racially pure Aryans and renew German blood.
The demographic situation in Germany during the 1930s was dire. The enormous losses suffered during World War I led to an imbalance in the population, with a disproportionate number of women compared to men. Additionally, there was a very low birth rate. Despite the large-scale promotion of the "2+4" family model, the birth rate did not increase. The rate of abortion – which was illegal at the time – remained high, at around 600,000 per year.
Germany was preparing for global expansion, considering the possibility of war and further losses in the male population. Therefore, the mass "production" of racially pure humans was highly desirable. Under these circumstances, the Lebensborn programme was launched, with the objective of increasing the number of births, reducing abortions, and providing care for single mothers and their children. The condition for participation in the programme was meeting the criteria of Aryan racial purity. Initially, the Lebensborn centres were established within the Third Reich, but with the outbreak of war and Germany's territorial expansion, they began to be set up in occupied territories as well: in Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, the Balkans, and France.
One of the largest Lebensborn centres in occupied Poland was in Helenówek, a village at the time located in the Radogoszcz municipality, between Łódź and Zgierz. A former pre-war orphanage for Jewish children was chosen as the headquarters. A sports complex with playing fields, swimming pools, gymnasiums, a common room, a school, and several dozen wooden houses were built on its premises, where the participants of the centre – young Germans, as well as representatives of other nationalities aged 15-18 who met the racial criteria – lived. Incidentally, it is worth noting that in 1940, screening tests conducted in Poznań indicated that 15-18% of Poles met the Aryan standards, and a little later, probably due to a loosening of the criteria, this number was increased to 20-25%, which allowed the Germans to undertake Germanisation efforts.
The Helenówek centre began its operations in the summer of 1941. Initially, it was inhabited by young Germans who came here as participants in a sports and educational camp. In the autumn of 1941, the hunt for Polish youth of both sexes began, with people being captured in public places such as trams, trains, and streets, and then selected: those who met racial standards were sent for medical examinations to rule out diseases. Those who successfully passed the selection process were transported to Helenówek. The rest were released to their homes.
The stay at the Lebensborn centre in Łódź was conceived as a luxurious camp lasting several weeks. The young people had their time filled from morning until 10:00 p.m. They engaged in physical activities, watched films, and participated in school and integration activities. The participants were well-fed and were not differentiated by nationality – Poles were treated the same as Germans. The only purpose of the camp was what happened after 10:00 p.m. Young people were expected to engage in sexual intercourse for procreative purposes. This was carried out under the supervision of medical staff, who were very strict about their duties, and any misconduct was severely punished.
As soon as the girls became pregnant, they were taken to Lebensborn centres located in the Third Reich, where they remained in excellent living conditions under medical and nursing care until they gave birth. Newborns were immediately taken away and raised by waiting German families. The young mothers had no contact with their children. After the postpartum period, they were either sent to forced labour, re-fertilised, or sent to concentration camps.
Not only were girls from round-ups sent to Helenówek, but also those from the camp on Przemysłowa Street who had undergone racial selection. Among the Polish women, there were unsuccessful suicide attempts made in protest against being forced into unwanted sex.
The camp in Helenówek existed until the autumn of 1944. It is difficult to determine the number of young people who passed through it because there was a high turnover in the centre. At any one time, around 500 young Poles and Germans stayed there. Nothing is known about the victims of this eugenic experiment. Historical sources are silent on this matter. The Polish participants in the programme did not reveal their wartime experiences due to the humiliating and stigmatising nature of what they had endured, and the fate of children conceived through this programme is unknown.
Helenówek and similar places scattered across German-occupied Europe represent just a fragment of the crimes committed by the Germans against the most innocent victims. The Lebensborn centres also involved the forced Germanisation of children who met racial criteria, with the greatest sacrifice being made by the Children of Zamość. But that is a topic for another article.
Wiolar
24 June 2024
Translated by Kakooshka
