Guest Post by A Reader named Ziggy: Nazis DO Exist in Berks County!

It has been said that those who do not pay attention to history are doomed to repeat it. Perhaps this is why the events I see happening in Berks County concern me so much. As a German, I heard stories--hushed stories---about what happened to many families during the Holocaust. Ironically, some people across the globe still dispute that the Holocaust even happened.

My parents endured horrific things which they never talked about. Occasionally things would come up, but in general, the time was not spoken of. I do know that my father's family lived for a while in a ditch to escape the Nazi military. My aunt, who had blue eyes and blonde hair, was taken and given to a Nazi family because it was felt that she had "better genes". This was not uncommon and happened to many children. Other children were experimented upon and exposed to drugs in order to "advance scientific knowledge." Others who choose to speak out or protect the persecuted were sent to concentration camps. Most died.
The above picture is of shoes of those who were sent to die at concentration camps.

From the Holocaust encyclopedia:
Children were especially vulnerable in the era of the Holocaust. The Nazis advocated killing children of “unwanted” or “dangerous” groups in accordance with their ideological views, either as part of the “racial struggle” or as a measure of preventative security. The Germans and their collaborators killed children both for these ideological reasons and in retaliation for real or alleged partisan attacks.


Perhaps this is why the comment of "low class" by the anonymous poster upset me so much. We are lead to believe that in America, people are so tolerant and diverse. It is portrayed as a "melting pot" of cultures and races. Yet the truth comes out. Apparently, it is okay to take and abuse "low class" families and put their children with wealthy Berks County families who tow the party line or have certain lawyers who know the right people. This hogwash is "sold" to citizens much as Hitler "sold" his story to the German people. They were lead to believe that there were advancing the German state. In short, they were lied to.

Family members turned against each other as did neighbors. Those who were not loyal to the state were sent away. Some went into hiding. Others were declared mentally ill and were sent away to state run sanitariums, never to be seen again. Children who were disabled were particularly vulnerable, much as is seen today in Berks County. You see, disabled children can garner more money for greedy caseworkers.

In 1961, the GDR built the Berlin Wall. It would take many blog posts to explain exactly why this happened. But the result was again that families were separated by a wall and unable to contact each other. We would stand at the wall( as close as the armed guards would allow us to get) and silently pray for our family stuck on the other side of the wall. What a great day it was when the walls finally came down and we were able to re-unite with family that we hadn't seen in decades.

I was deeply troubled when I learned that children in America in "the system" were put on a number of drugs or sent to institutions when they had done nothing wrong. This reminds me again of the events I had heard of the Nazis where children were deported, experimented upon, and sent to camps simply because of who their parents were.

When I see people being persecuted simply because of their beliefs, this troubles me deeply. History is repeating itself--and like with the Nazi's, those in power do not care to fix what is wrong.  Ironically, many of the citizens of the county are themselves of German descent. In short, they should know better.

But the anonymous poster got one thing wrong about the BCCYS Corruption group: this group is not full of "low class" people; and even if it were, it gives no one the right to take children and place them in "upper class" family homes simply to make money. Children should be protected and nurtured, not used to balance county budgets or create bonus checks for irresponsible caseworkers and lawyers.

Many members of the group are definitely middle class and hold professional jobs. A number are college educated and have traveled the world. These individuals have friends in high places, including in countries around the world and can network very well. They are educated and can express themselves adequately. And unlike in times gone by, they can express themselves on the internet where many can read about their experiences and reflect upon them. Let me say it again: even IF the members of the group are or were uneducated, of low class descent or of certain ancestry, it gives NO ONE the right, especially in America to say that they should not be able to parent their own children. 

I am proud to say that I am an international member of the BCCYS corruption group. They are speaking out against government corruption! Perhaps if more of us had spoken out in Germany all those years ago, perhaps, just perhaps......

The past can not be changed. But the future can. We can learn our lessons from the past and work to behave differently in the future so that future generations will not suffer the same atrocities that we have suffered. Let this be true in Berks County, for the sake of future generations.

They came for the Communists, and I

didn't object - For I wasn't

a Communist;

They came for the Socialists, and I

didn't object - For I wasn't a Socialist;

They came for the labor leaders, and I

didn't object - For I wasn't a labor leader;

They came for the Jews, and I didn't

object - For I wasn't a Jew;

Then they came for me -

And there was no one left to object.

Martin Niemoller, German Protestant Pastor,

1892-1984

This could be updated to say,

First they came for the "low class" parents' children;
But I didn't object because I wasn't "low class";
They came for the poor parents' children.
I didn't object because I wasn't poor.
Then they came for parents who were supposedly mentally ill and took their children:
I did not object because I was not mentally ill.
They came for children who had supposedly been abused.
I did not object at all. After all, this is what CYS should do!
Then they came for the children of parents' with puppies,
 I didn't object because I didn't have a puppy;
Then they came for the children of parents who were divorced.
I didn't object because I wasn't divorced.
Then they came for the children of parents who had fundamentalist religious beliefs;
I did not object because I was not a fundamentalist.
They took the children whose parents requested second opinions medically.
But my children were very healthy and so I didn't object. Besides, objecting takes time and effort and I had to work.
I had to work and make a living and there were things to do. Life went on.
But eventually......eventually.....they came for my children.....
I was accused of being mentally ill and abusing my children.
Documentation was doctored to "prove" I had done so. My reputation
was tarnished; I lost my job, and my children were taken for "their own good".
And the parents before me who had their children taken gathered around me to console me in my grief.

Ziggy