The mass adoptions of Greek children to the USA and the Netherlands is set to be discussed in a coming lecture, addressing the impact of the near 4,000 children who were resettled to these nations from 1948 through to the 1960s.
The lecture, titled “Children of the ‘Silent Migration’: Child Adoptions from Greece to Countries Overseas in the 1950s-1960s”, will take place on Thursday 27 June at 7 pm and will be live streamed on Facebook and YouTube.
The talk, which is part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne) will be delivered by Professor Gonda Van Steen from the King’s College London, who will delve into the significant but often overlooked part of Greek history.
Professor Van Steen, in her lecture, will examine the historical context of this migration, the role of adoption intermediaries, and the ongoing challenges faced by adoptees and their families in tracing their roots and histories.
“Adoption intermediaries played a critical role in the earliest waves of this historic overseas adoption movement, for devising the blueprint of mass international adoption and, regrettably, for letting some of its systemic mistakes happen,” Professor Van Steen said.
“This lecture aims to shed light on both the personal stories of these children and the institutional frameworks that facilitated their transnational adoptions.”
The academic, who holds the prestigious Koraes Chair of Modern Greek and Byzantine History, Language and Literature at King’s College London, has researched extensively on the subjects of adoption and migration in relation to Greek history and culture.
