Engelbracht:Between recreation and compulsion

Revisiting a long-silenced topic. This book provides a comprehensive insight into the everyday life of a typical German children's recovery home: the Adolfinenheim Borkum (1921-1996). Over a period of 75 years, tens of thousands of boys and girls from many parts of Germany were sent to the North Sea island of Borkum for recuperation or therapy. The aim of the cure was to "fatten up" the children, as they were perceived by adults—doctors, parents, or teachers—as too pale, too thin, or too overweight. For many children, the cure ended catastrophically: instead of the hoped-for recovery or healing, many experienced loveless treatment, fear, and violent coercion in the recovery homes. This was also the case at the Adolfinenheim, which was run for many years by Bremer deaconesses. For decades, there was silence about the millions of children sent to German recovery homes. No one asked what happened in these institutions. And the children suffered in silence. What had happened, and who was responsible? This fully illustrated book sheds light on the lasting impacts of the cures on the affected children up to the present day, using the example of the Adolfinenheim, and thus initiates a much-needed discussion about this forgotten chapter of German history.