“Discarded children”

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Boy cutting wood. boys' home, Oberbipp, 1940 Paul Senn, FFV, Kunstmuseum Bern, Dep. GKS. © GKS.

The three eldest children from this family were placed in care in canton Bern, 1946 Paul Senn, FFV, Kunstmuseum Bern, Dep. GKS. © GKS.

Boys at work. Sonnenberg institution, Kriens, 1944 Paul Senn, FFV, Kunstmuseum Bern, Dep. GKS. © GKS.

A boy placed in care: Picture taken during the visit of an official inspector, canton Bern, 1940 Paul Senn, FFV, Kunstmuseum Bern, Dep. GKS. © GKS.

The inspector checks the teeth of a girl placed in care, canton Bern, 1940 Paul Senn, FFV, Kunstmuseum Bern, Dep. GKS. © GKS.

Boys with the director of a care home, Oberbipp, 1940 Paul Senn, FFV, Kunstmuseum Bern, Dep. GKS. © GKS.

Boys at the Sonnenberg home are put to work, Kriens, 1944 Paul Senn, FFV, Kunstmuseum Bern, Dep. GKS. © GKS.

A girl placed in care knits, canton Bern, 1945 Paul Senn, FFV, Kunstmuseum Bern, Dep. GKS. © GKS.

Boys working in the fields, Oberbipp, 1940 Paul Senn, FFV, Kunstmuseum Bern, Dep. GKS. © GKS.

Boy from Sonnenberg at work, Kriens, 1944 Paul Senn, FFV, Kunstmuseum Bern, Dep. GKS. © GKS.

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In a dark period of Swiss history, children from poor backgrounds were removed from their homes and resettled.

A touring national exhibition on the “Verdingkinder”, or “discarded children”, highlights the children’s plight.

All images: Paul Senn, FFV, Kunstmuseum Bern, Dep. GKS. © GKS.