Two trainloads of children, some of them born in Nazi-run "Lebensborn" maternity homes, were brought from Germany to Commercy in eastern France in 1946. One of them was Édith Pagot.
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Adopted as a child, Édith Pagot had no idea she had been born in a Nazi-run Lebensborn (“fount of life”) maternity home until earlier this year, when her daughter began looking into their past.
“This photo is of a baby about 18 months old. It has my first name and surname on it,” says Édith, holding a black-and-white photo in her fingertips.
Until a few months ago, Édith had never seen a picture of herself as a baby.
“I look nice. I look very well-behaved,” she says, a little wistfully.
However, behind the image of the chubby-cheeked infant lies a dark story.
“It was taken at the Indersdorf orphanage in Germany in 1945. They photographed us holding a sign with our first names and surnames on it, to try to find our families," Édith says. "It’s a bit difficult to see that sign,” she adds.
