A large number of Danes alive today were placed in care at some point in their lives. And yet, knowledge of the realities of life in care is strictly limited. We could even go as far as to say that to be placed in care is to be placed outside of history.
In recent years, there has been an increasing awareness of this imbalance. On the political front, this led to the Ministry of Social Affairs earmarking DKK 5.7 million in 2012 for a research project on the history of vulnerable groups during the period 1945–1980. The project is being run by a team of researchers under Svendborg Museum.
The project consists of three main tracks:
• Collation and cataloguing of literature
• Collation and cataloguing of archive material, including still- and video images
• Collation of eyewitness accounts.
Eyewitness accounts will be collated through individual life-story interviews with people who have been in care and witness seminars with former employees. It will also be possible to submit them directly via Fortæl on this website.
The collated data will be analysed and presented in a report to be published in late 2014.
As well as being posted on this website, the project's results will be included in teaching in primary and lower secondary schools, university colleges and other educational institutions.
Target group
In Care, in History is about the life and conditions of children and adults who were taken into care during the period 1945–1980.
In historical terms this includes children and adults who were placed in children's homes, psychiatric institutions, workhouses, care homes, institutions for the blind, deaf, physically disabled, epileptics, etc.
Research team
The project is being conducted by a research team consisting of:
• project manager and historian Jesper Vaczy Kragh
• historian Jacob Knage Rasmussen
• anthropologist Stine Gronbek Jensen.
A monitoring group has been established, as well as an academic reference group chaired by the historian, Profesor Klaus Petersen.
Archivist Peter Fransen of the Danish State Archives and librarian Susanne Lindow from the Royal Danish Library will also be attached to the project for a limited period.
Martin Sandø of the National Board of Social Services and Welfare is responsible for project administration. The Board issued the invitation to tender for the project.
Svendborg Museum
In Care, in History is based at Svendborg Museum. As a department of Svendborg Museum, the Welfare Museum occupies the best-preserved poorhouse in the Nordic Region, which dates back to 1872.
The Welfare Museum displays an often hidden part of the history of Denmark – the story of the many people who have lived life in society's shadows. The museum has worked to preserve, research and relate the history of care in different institutions, e.g. children's homes, poorhouses, workhouses and homes for the elderly.
The Welfare Museum compiled the Godhavn Report and has conducted several nationwide collations of social history, including in conjunction with the exhibition Don't Think of Your Father and Mother and the associated website www.børnehjem.dk, as well as the projects 100 Years of Poverty and Beat Poverty.
Contact
If you have relevant knowledge or information or have questions regarding In Care, in History please feel free to contact us:
anbragt@svendborgmuseum.dk
In Care, in History
SVENDBORG MUSEUM
Grubbemøllevej 13
DK-5700 Svendborg
Tel.: +45 62 21 02 61
