WERNIGERODE, Germany, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Thousands of Germans conceived under the Nazi Lebensborn program are trying to come to terms with their heritage.
S.S. chief Heinrich Himmler promoted the program, which was designed to create a pure master race by breeding women of "Aryan" stock with S.S. officers. Lebensborn means "spring of life."
Members of a Lebensborn self-help group founded last year met last weekend in Wernigerode, where a Lebensborn clinic was located, The Times of London reported. The clinic, which was converted to a woman's hospital, helped spark new curiosity about the program when a cache of Lebensborn documents were found in a loft.
"A lot of us have only recently started to seek out where we came from,' said Peter Naumann, the group's founder. "When you retire you look back on your life."
About 8,000 Lebensborn children were born in Germany and 12,000 in Norway, The Times said. There were also clinics in Austria and some other occupied countries.
