Portraits help ‘stolen children’ reclaim their lives

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Renate Käser-Burri, 71: "Behind the façade was violence including beatings from the farmer's wife." Marbles are Renate Käser-Burri's only childhood keepsake. They were all she had to play with. klaunzer

Gilbert Martinet, 69: "The yokels were incapable of receiving a child." Gilbert Martinet suffered permanent insomnia. When a doctor advised him to fulfill a childhood wish, he bought this toy car. Since then, his sleepless nights have mostly came to an end. kl

Edith Lüdi-Hess, 53: "The legal guardian was barely out the door when the terror would resume." A letter from Caracas, Venezuela did not have the hoped for information about her father. She still doesn't know what happened to him. klaunzer

Michel Wielly, 64, had to work in the potato field beside this tree. kl

Rita Soltermann, 78: "The stolen childhood remains with you until the end of your days." The doll was a present from her husband for her 70th birthday. She had a doll as a child but it was taken away from her. kl

Godi Brunner, 85: "No one encouraged me." Godi Brunner is a carpenter. He is still active, making small things out of wood like this piggy-bank house. klaunzer

Old photographs from Dominique Berchier (no other information) klaunzer

Hugo Zingg, 80: "Learning was secondary." Thanks to a fishing licence from the 1940s Hugo Zingg has a photo of his father. He first met him in person when he was on his death bed. kl

Mireille Soana shows an old picture of her with her two sisters. Because she had blonde hair, her grandmother claimed her father was not her real one. She tried repeatedly to contact her sisters, but without success. kl

Christian Tschannen, 45: "Enquiries about questionable practices at various offices of the authorities were ignored." The artist Christian Tschannen with his self-made suit. kl

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A series of photographs showing in the Swiss capital Bern tell the story of Switzerland’s ‘discarded children’.

The portraits of 25 people by photographer Peter Klaunzer at Bern’s Käfigturm exhibition space illustrate a controversial chapter in recent Swiss history.

Up until the 1970s children put in foster care were often put to work on farms without any compensation. Many were abused. In September last year, the Swiss parliament approved CHF300 million ($304 million) in compensation for the surviving victims.

All of the 25 men and women depicted were placed in foster care as children, and forced to work on farms or in factories. Only a few have any good childhood memories. They were often the victims of violence or sexual abuse.

Switzerland ended the practice in 1981 after ratifying the European Convention on Human Rights.  

(Text: Christian Raaflaub, swissinfo.ch)