A recognized expert was of the opinion that pedophile men would take better care of their charges as foster fathers than other foster parents. Even after decades, the process of coming to terms with this dark chapter in Berlin's youth welfare system does not seem to be complete.
The targeted placement of children and adolescents for foster care with pedophiles from the late 1960s onward apparently has a larger dimension than previously known. In addition to two cases in Berlin that have been known for some time, a person affected has also come forward who was placed in a Berlin-run foster home in West Germany, researchers at the University of Hildesheim reported in Berlin on Monday.
There is a reasonable assumption that there were other such foster homes or shared apartments in West Germany, initiated at the time by Berlin authorities. Behind it a network had stood. According to the scientists, those affected reported border crossings, violence and experiences of abuse.
The Kentler experiment: foster children and adolescents placed with pedophiles with criminal records
The researchers presented their final report on the disturbing work of Berlin social pedagogue Helmut Kentler (1928-2008), who until the mid-1970s was head of department at the Pedagogical Center in Berlin, a subordinate agency of the Senate. The practice of placing foster children and adolescents with pedophiles with criminal records, which Kentler dressed up as a "scientific experiment," began in Berlin in the late 1960s and continued until the early 2000s, according to the report. How many victims there even are is unclear, according to the researchers.
Kentler believed that as foster fathers, these men would take better care of their charges than other foster parents. The fact that they might want sex in return was not an obstacle for the psychologist and sex researcher. According to media reports, the pedophiles even received foster money.
"Child welfare endangerment in public responsibility" - behind it was network
From the point of view of the reappraisal, it was a matter of "child welfare endangerment in public responsibility," said co-author Julia Schröder. Kentler, who was highly respected at the time, is described as one of the main players in a network that, according to the report, went right through the scientific pedagogical institutions, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, and the senate administration right into district youth welfare offices.
Thus, pedophilic positions were "accepted, supported and defended," and assaults were not only tolerated but justified. At the same time, there had also been positions to the contrary. Kentler had exerted a decisive influence on the decisions of those responsible. According to Schröder, the responsibility for Kentler's activities lies with the Berlin Senate as his employer.
Berlin announces compensation payments
Berlin's Senator for Education, Youth and Family, Sandra Scheeres (SPD), announced compensation payments for those affected. A law firm has been commissioned to conduct the talks. Scheeres spoke of authority failure. "We have uncovered a network," she stressed. It had become clear that Kentler had sought child abuse. She called the action "inhumane." Berlin takes responsibility, she said. Scheeres asked those affected for forgiveness.
In view of the findings, Scheeres stressed that it was important for the investigation to go beyond Berlin. The Berlin structures are also to be examined more closely, and a study has been commissioned in this regard. Scheeres' Senate Department had funded the Hildesheim study and also an earlier study on the topic. The scientists spoke now among other things with three victims, with contemporary witnesses and analyzed files.
The Independent Commission for the Reappraisal of Sexual Child Abuse stated that it "emphatically supports the proposal that the Conference of Youth Ministers must initiate a nationwide reappraisal of violent relationships in the foster child system and home education in order to be able to further reappraise the available evidence of a widely ramified network."
Kentler, who later taught as a professor of social pedagogy at the Technical University of Hanover, was never prosecuted for his "experiment." The acts were considered time-barred. He died in 2008.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
for the non-krauts:
A recognized expert was of the opinion that pedophile men would take better care of their charges as foster fathers than other foster parents. Even after decades, the process of coming to terms with this dark chapter in Berlin's youth welfare system does not seem to be complete. The targeted placement of children and adolescents for foster care with pedophiles from the late 1960s onward apparently has a larger dimension than previously known. In addition to two cases in Berlin that have been known for some time, a person affected has also come forward who was placed in a Berlin-run foster home in West Germany, researchers at the University of Hildesheim reported in Berlin on Monday.
There is a reasonable assumption that there were other such foster homes or shared apartments in West Germany, initiated at the time by Berlin authorities. Behind it a network had stood. According to the scientists, those affected reported border crossings, violence and experiences of abuse.
The Kentler experiment: foster children and adolescents placed with pedophiles with criminal records The researchers presented their final report on the disturbing work of Berlin social pedagogue Helmut Kentler (1928-2008), who until the mid-1970s was head of department at the Pedagogical Center in Berlin, a subordinate agency of the Senate. The practice of placing foster children and adolescents with pedophiles with criminal records, which Kentler dressed up as a "scientific experiment," began in Berlin in the late 1960s and continued until the early 2000s, according to the report. How many victims there even are is unclear, according to the researchers.
Kentler believed that as foster fathers, these men would take better care of their charges than other foster parents. The fact that they might want sex in return was not an obstacle for the psychologist and sex researcher. According to media reports, the pedophiles even received foster money.
"Child welfare endangerment in public responsibility" - behind it was network From the point of view of the reappraisal, it was a matter of "child welfare endangerment in public responsibility," said co-author Julia Schröder. Kentler, who was highly respected at the time, is described as one of the main players in a network that, according to the report, went right through the scientific pedagogical institutions, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, and the senate administration right into district youth welfare offices.
Thus, pedophilic positions were "accepted, supported and defended," and assaults were not only tolerated but justified. At the same time, there had also been positions to the contrary. Kentler had exerted a decisive influence on the decisions of those responsible. According to Schröder, the responsibility for Kentler's activities lies with the Berlin Senate as his employer.
Berlin announces compensation payments Berlin's Senator for Education, Youth and Family, Sandra Scheeres (SPD), announced compensation payments for those affected. A law firm has been commissioned to conduct the talks. Scheeres spoke of authority failure. "We have uncovered a network," she stressed. It had become clear that Kentler had sought child abuse. She called the action "inhumane." Berlin takes responsibility, she said. Scheeres asked those affected for forgiveness.
In view of the findings, Scheeres stressed that it was important for the investigation to go beyond Berlin. The Berlin structures are also to be examined more closely, and a study has been commissioned in this regard. Scheeres' Senate Department had funded the Hildesheim study and also an earlier study on the topic. The scientists spoke now among other things with three victims, with contemporary witnesses and analyzed files.
The Independent Commission for the Reappraisal of Sexual Child Abuse stated that it "emphatically supports the proposal that the Conference of Youth Ministers must initiate a nationwide reappraisal of violent relationships in the foster child system and home education in order to be able to further reappraise the available evidence of a widely ramified network."
Kentler, who later taught as a professor of social pedagogy at the Technical University of Hanover, was never prosecuted for his "experiment." The acts were considered time-barred. He died in 2008.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)