Né à Belfond
Born in secret
A film by Christa Miranda
Documentary film, 58 min, SRF, Sternstunde Religion, 3sat
Written and directed: Christa Miranda
camera: Daniel Leippert
Sound and drone: Olivier JeanRichard
music: Sandra Stadler
Edit:: Mirjam Krakenberger
Postprod.Assistant: Lars Wicki
Grading: Peche Guyer, doc&post
Soundedit: himex sounddesign
Soundmix: Peter von Siebenthal
Producer: Pedro Haldemann, Insertfilm AG
Co-production: SRF Sternstunde Religion, 3sat
«La Kinderfabrik» is what locals called the birthplace for single young pregnant women in the Jura. Secluded and hidden, mothers like Agnes gave birth, children like Nicole and Urs were born and adopted.
Agnes becomes pregnant at the age of 16. Because no one is allowed to find out, she is shipped across Switzerland to a home for mothers and babies in the Jura. She is not allowed to see the baby after it is born; it is given up for adoption against her will.
A little later, Nicole is born in the same home in Belfond. She is placed in a foster home, which subsequently adopts her. Later, she searches for and finds her biological mother and discovers that her wealthy biological father has bought his way out with a contract of silence.
Urs is also born and adopted in Belfond. At a ripe old age, he discovers his biological cousin and the circumstances of his birth.
Agnes, Nicole and Urs are three of numerous people who experienced life breaks in this place, or whose lives began here with drama. The 920 children who were born here between 1952 and 1978 will probably never know exactly what happened here; many records have been destroyed. The Catholic community of sisters Seraphisches Liebeswerk Solothurn (SLS) ran the home.
Why did the unmarried pregnant women come here? What was everyday life like? How did the children come to be adopted, and what effects did the difficult start have on their further lives?
The film centers on the now-empty building and the town of Belfond. Agnes dives into the memories of a relentless youth full of violence and prohibitions, Nicole and Urs follow the traces of her birth and find clues as well as new questions. An elderly midwife, the neighbors, sisters of the SLS and other witnesses describe their view of the history of the birthplace for “fallen girls” in Belfond.
Soloothurner Zeitung
How hundreds of women had to give birth in secret in the “children’s factory” – and what role the nuns of Solothurn played in this.
Tucked away in the Jura mountains, the Seraphic Charity of Solothurn ran a home for “fallen girls”. Until the late 1970s, unmarried pregnant women gave birth to their children there, many of whom were put up for adoption. The circumstances surrounding this were never fully investigated.
Christof Ramser
10.05.2024, 12.35 Uhr
Exclusively for subscribers
The locals called the hamlet in a secluded forest clearing “La Kinderfabrik” (the children’s factory). By 1978, 920 children had been born here, many of whom were immediately put up for adoption.
Take Agnes, for example. At 16, she becomes pregnant. It’s a disgrace for her strict Catholic farming family. No one must find out that she, an unmarried girl, will soon have a baby. Her mother and sister send Agnes halfway across Switzerland, as far away as possible. Their destination: a mother and baby home in the Jura. The locals call the hamlet in a lonely forest clearing not far from the Doubs and the French border “La Kinderfabrik” (the children’s factory).
In 1964, Agnes gives birth to a girl in Belfond. She is allowed to keep her after the
https://www.solothurnerzeitung.ch/solothurn/kanton-solothurn/katho…elche-rolle-solothurner-ordensschwestern-dabei-spielten-ld.2617396
Page 1 of 7 Solothurn nuns ran a home for “fallen girls”
Not seeing the birth, let alone holding the baby in her arms. The infant is taken away from the young mother and put up for adoption.
Between 1952 and 1978, 920 children were born in this home for “fallen girls”. In secret, arranged by parents, doctors, priests and guardianship authorities. A fifth of them were immediately put up for adoption.
Agnes was not allowed to hold her baby in her arms after giving birth.
The institution for unmarried pregnant women was run by the Seraphic Charity. The Catholic sisterhood in Solothurn ran several children’s homes and an adoption agency. It played an important role in placing children in compulsory care. According to historian Andreas Fankhauser, the Seraphic Charity served as a “hub in Catholic German-speaking Switzerland”.
A cloak of silence
Agnes is the protagonist in the film “Né à Belfond – versteckt geboren” (Born in Belfond – Born in Secret), which will be broadcast on SRF on Mother’s Day and was produced by Pedro Haldemann’s Insertfilm in Solothurn. In it, filmmaker Christa Miranda explores the history of this birth house. She came across it while walking with a friend not far from Saignelégier. “What happened there was well known in the area,” says the author and director. “But it wasn’t talked about much.”
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