Fashion with message: forced adoptions in the GDR in the spotlight!

Fashion with message: forced adoptions in the GDR in the spotlight!

At this year's Berlin Fashion Week, the Berlin designer Kilian Kerner caused a stir with his new collection, which deals with a dark chapter in German history: the forced adoptions in the GDR. The show took place in the Uber-Arena and was not only a feast for the eyes, but also stimulated to think. The extravagant outfits of the models, inspired by the 80s look, were accompanied by an eerie watchtower and monitors who pointed out the inscription "Attention, they now leave West Berlin". So Kerner wanted to combine both shine and the horror in his designs, such as Radio Cologne.

In this collection, which deals with the high phase of the compulsory adoptions, the models carried striking hoodies with slogans like "Where are our children?" And held up handwritten posters. The image of a male model that presented a baby doll in a rough gray suit was particularly tingling. This picture is intended to visually illustrate the grievances associated with the adoptions. Kerner himself was made aware of this problem through a documentary about child welfare and adoptions in the GDR and wanted to draw the public with his work on this problem.

political dimension of the compulsory adoptions

The forced adoptions in the GDR are an example of state repression. Estimates assume about 10,000 cases. An essential aspect of these practices was the pressure that many parents experienced. The youth welfare office was able to make decisions without the physical parents' consent, as is clear using the example of Sabine Zapf, who landed in a children's home after the third child could not be expected after her as a single mother. Deutschlandfunk Kultur reports on her painful loss because her biological father fought for her return, but failed.

The mothers affected by compulsory adoptions were under immense pressure. Viola Greiner-Willibald reports that many women did not dare to stand against the state's withdrawal of their children for fear of repression. The family code of the GDR did not allow mercy and called for the upbringing to "socialist personalities". "Der Spiegel" already reported in 1975 about this missed policy, which has not been sufficiently processed in the further episode.

review in focus

The processing of this story has not yet been completed. The Bundestag asked in 2019 that adoption files are no longer allowed to be destroyed, and steps were taken to set up a "central information and placement and placement agency". The final results and concrete measures are still unclear, since a study by the Federal Ministry of the Interior should not be completed until the beginning of 2026, as [forced adopted children] (https://zwangsadopted-kinder.de/aufung- von-zwangsadoptions/). Kerner himself demands that not only a DNA database are set up, but also enables access to important adoption files for affected parents.

At the end of the fashion show, the question remained how many affected parents and children are still waiting for clarification and justice. The people who were robbed by forced adoptions of their identity and children deserve this processing. Kilian Kerner hopes to get another stone rolling through his collection and reach at least ten new information cases within one year. The history of forced adoptions in the GDR is ultimately a story of loss and tireless striving for justice.