The Nazis used child abduction as a weapon, kidnapping tens of thousands of children from occupied territories, particularly Poland. They were ‘Germanised’, forbidden to speak their mother tongue, given German names and adopted into German families.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, this war crime has acquired new urgency due to deportations and forced relocations of about 20 000 Ukrainian children to Russia and Belarus. They face the threat of forced adoption and Russification and might even be pressured to take up arms against their country of origin – another war crime under international law.
We will explore this sensitive topic through two powerful personal testimonies: a Polish woman abducted by the Nazis during the Second World War, and a Ukrainian woman who travelled to Russia to rescue her abducted brother. Their stories – one from the past, the other from the present – will shed light on the human consequences of child abduction across generations.
Registration: events-bxl@europa.bremen.de (Please register by 12 November at the latest)
The conference “Child Abduction as a war crime” is due to take place on the eve of the European Committee of the Regions Working Group on Ukraine's meeting on November 20th – UNICEF´s World Children´s Day, which marks the adoption of the Children´s Right Convention in 1989. The outcomes of the conference will be considered at the CoR Working Group on Ukraine meeting the following day. The meeting is open to the public to attend.
If you would like to attend, please kindly fill in the registration form below by 13 November, at noon (CET): EUSurvey - Survey
The European Committee of the Regions is hosting the event but is not responsible for its content.
Venue
European Committee of the Regions (CoR)
Atrium 5, 5th floor of JDE-Bâtiment Jacques Delors
Rue Belliard 101, B-1040, Brussels