Lecture: Child Adoption from Cold War Greece: Research and Activism

Greece facilitated the migration of some 4,000 of its children for adoption overseas. Between 1950 and 1970, the vast majority of these Greek-born children went to couples in the USA, but some 600 Greek infants and toddlers were sent to the Netherlands. These countries were the largest recipients of Greek “orphans,” who are more appropriately called “adoptees”, because, in many cases, one or both parents were still alive but did not have the means or family support to keep their child. I have recently documented the history of the postwar and Cold War Greek adoption movement in my book Adoption, Memory, and Cold War Greece (U Michigan Press, 2019). From that study came numerous meetings with the Greek-born adoptees and now also a campaign of activism for what they hope Greece will still grant them: their records, their restored citizenship, and further research on this sensitive topic.