In the inhuman ideology of the Nazi regime, children born to female prisoners in camps or forced laborers in the factories were not granted the right to live. The children should and had to die. Their parents had no means of saving their lives.
The municipality of Puerten was responsible for the maternity home at the Kraiburg factory. From 1942 to 1945, 52 births and 29 deaths of children belonging to the French, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian nations are recorded in the registry office’s register of births.
At the Puerten parish cemetery
Puerten’s priest Johann Gasser was able to baptize 13 children of forced labourers. In the death register of the parish of Pürten, however, only two burials of children in the parish cemetery are recorded. It is not known where the other babies were laid to rest. Here is a quote from a monthly report from the Kraiburg gendarmerie post in charge: “On July 24, 1944, the children of the Eastern workers employed at the Kraiburg plant were taken to the children’s home for foreigners in Gendorf. After this placement, however, several Eastern workers brought their children back to Kraiburg. The reason given was the poor treatment. However, the children were returned to the Gendorf camp on August 3.”
