Denmark’s prime minister apologized in person Wednesday to six Greenlandic Inuits removed from their families and taken to Copenhagen more than 70 years ago as part of an experiment to create a Danish-speaking elite.
“What you were subjected to was terrible. It was inhumane. It was unfair. And it was heartless,” Mette Frederiksen told the six at an emotional ceremony in the capital.
“We can take responsibility and do the only thing that is fair, in my eyes: to say sorry to you for what happened.”
In the summer of 1951, 22 Inuit children between the ages of 5 and 8 were sent to Denmark, which was Greenland’s colonial power at the time but has since gained autonomy.
The parents had been promised their children would have a better life, learn Danish and return to Greenland one day as the future elite, in a deal between authorities in Copenhagen and Nuuk, the Greenland capital.
In Denmark, the children were not allowed to have any contact with their own families. After two years, 16 of the group were sent home to Greenland, but placed in an orphanage.
The others were adopted by Danish families. Several of the children never saw their real families again.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (center) arrives at the Military Headquarters Kastellet in Copenhagen, during a ceremony marking Flag Day on Sunday. Flag Day honors people who are or have been sent on a mission by Denmark. Photo: AFP
