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Crime


BERLIN AUTHORITIES PLACED CHILDREN WITH PEDOPHILES

Rina Goldenberg
06/15/2020June 15, 2020

The 'Kentler Project' in West Berlin routinely placed homeless children with
pedophile men, assuming they'd make ideal foster parents. A study has found the
practice went on for decades.

https://p.dw.com/p/3dnX6
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Starting in the 1970s psychology professor Helmut Kentler conducted his
"experiment." Homeless children in West Berlin were intentionally placed with
pedophile men. These men would make especially loving foster parents, Kentler
argued.

A study conducted by the University of Hildesheim has found that authorities in
Berlin condoned this practice for almost 30 years. The pedophile foster fathers
even received a regular care allowance.

Helmut Kentler (1928-2008) was in a leading position at Berlin's center for
educational research. He was convinced that sexual contact between adults and
children was harmless.

Berlin's child welfare offices and the governing Senate turned a blind eye or
even approved of the placements.

Read more: Germany to increase penalties for sexual violence against children

Several years ago two of the victims came forward and told their story, since
then the researchers at Hildesheim University have plowed through files and
conducted interviews.

What they found was a "network across educational institutions," the state youth
welfare office and the Berlin Senate, in which pedophilia was "accepted,
supported, defended."

Kentler himself was in regular contact with the children and their foster
fathers. He was never prosecuted: By the time his victims came forward, the
statute of limitations for his actions had expired. This has also thus far
prevented the victims from getting any compensation.

Read more: German council to fight sexual violence against children

The researchers found that several of the foster fathers were high-profile
academics. They speak of a network that included high-ranking members of the Max
Planck Institute, Berlin's Free University, and the notorious Odenwald School in
Hesse, West Germany, which was at the center of a major pedophilia scandal
several years ago. It has since been closed down.

Berlin's senator for youth and children, Sandra Scheeres called the findings
"shocking and horrifying."

A first report on the "Kentler experiment" was published in 2016 by the
University of Göttingen. The researchers then stated that the Berlin Senate
seemed to lack interest in finding out the truth.

Now Berlin authorities have vowed to shed light on the matter.

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THE DARK LEGACY OF SEXUAL LIBERATION IN GERMANY


THE DARK LEGACY OF SEXUAL LIBERATION IN GERMANY

Pedophiles in the guise of foster fathers — with vulnerable young boys in their
care: The Kentler Project was just one manifestation of a perverted notion of
Germany's sexual liberation that goes back to the 1960s. (17.06.2020)
Society06/17/2020June 17, 2020

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