HSLDA Founder and Chairman Mike Farris meets with the Wunderlich family during the Global Home Education Conference held in Berlin, Germany in October 2012.
Posted on 09/22/2013 6:05:16 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Dirk and Petra Wunderlich were reunited with their children Thursday after they were taken by their German government because the Wunderlichs homeschooled. The Wunderlichs had to agree to send their kids to public school before their kids were returned to them.
On Aug. 29, armed police officers raided the Wunderlich's home and forcibly took their four children, ages 7 to 14. There were no accusations of abuse nor neglect. The Wunderlich's were homeschooling their kids, in violation of German law.
The case has gained attention in the United States through the efforts of the Home School Legal Defense Association, which has been assisting the Wunderlichs. HSLDA encouraged its supporters to contact German officials and relay their support for the Wunderlichs. An article on the HSLDA website claims that thousands of Americans contacted the German embassy to complain about how the Wunderlichs were treated. HSLDA hopes that their efforts will "change Germany's attitude ... by embarrassing the authorities."
At the time of the raid, the parents pleaded with the police. They agreed to send their kids to public school if the police would not take them away. The police told them at the time that it was too late to make such an agreement. Michael Farris, chairman of HSLDA, believes that the international pressure led to the court agreeing to return the Wunderlich children to their parents.
"It's a small victory, but it's still a victory," Farris said. "... What we've seen today is a reversal in the German courts caused by the mounting international pressure from human rights advocates. This is a promising start to what will hopefully be a reversal on Germany's stance on homeschooling altogether."
Farris believes that Germany's mistreatment of homeschoolers is part of a larger problem in Germany in which its citizens are not allowed to live according to the dictates of their conscience.
"The way the parents were forced into complying with the government's wishes is only part of how Germany mistreats its citizens," he said. "The German government loves compromises as long as they ultimately get their way. They were fine with a Muslim teenager wearing a swimsuit with a head covering as long as she took part in co-ed pool activities despite her objections. And now they're fine that the Wunderlich family gets their children back as long as they attend a state school. The attitude of 'Our way or else…' is still very much alive in a supposedly tolerant society."
HSLDA has been helping another German homeschooling family, the Romeikes, that fled to the United States to avoid having their children seized from them. The Obama administration has been trying to deport the Romeikes back to Germany. In a last effort, HSLDA is petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to hear that case.
Farris criticized the Obama administration for not speaking out about the Wunderlich case.
"The State Department says it seeks to promote a greater respect for human rights on its website," he said. "It lists specific examples including freedom of expression and the protection of minorities, but what it doesn't mention is religious freedom. It is clear that the administration doesn't mind that religious homeschoolers in Germany are having their rights trampled upon by the way the Justice Department is going after the Romeike family."
The recent history of Germany shows that Germans do not worship God. They worship government authority. Germans are slow learners.
How would Germany or the Obama Administration have responded if this had involved a Muslim family?
Disgusting. But I certainly don't blame the parents. Imagine the hell they went through.
” The attitude of ‘Our way or else…’ is still very much alive in a supposedly tolerant society.”
Germany has never been a tolerant society as far as I know, unless you count their leaders “tolerating” whatever benefits them, just like other totalitarian states.
Ah yes..., Germany, the nation that has learned so much from it’s past.
I guess we should be thankful the parents weren’t loaded in a boxcar, shipped hundreds of miles away and gased for their “criminality”.
And those kids, why aren’t they doing forced labor or at least wearing a big cross on their clothing?
What must be going through the mind of an officer ordered to forcibly take children from their parents, because they were getting a superior education to what other children were getting?
If this is happening to only one family in Germany, it’s a threat to every family with children in the home. And the German government has no idea what this says about them.
Those that fail to learn the lessons of history are condemned to forever repeat them.
Can we please be allowed to use the term “Jackbooted thugs” yet? Please?
The Nazis must still run Germany. The big government types here are jealous .
Gee, I hope those kids don’t do anything that might cause them to be suspended...repeatedly suspended...or expelled.
They have a history!!!
It would be no problem. Even when home-schooling, Muslim families usually know the proper curriculum for their children.
When they get home, their parents are going to have to "unteach" them for what they learned at public school and then give them the education they would have given to them in the first place.
Germany, you are the loser here and I hope you rethink your policies on grabbing kids from the security of the parents at their own homes.
Rethink homeschooling.
They still think Obama is a Christian. After all, this is a Christian homeschooling family.
By the way, their children now belong to the state and cannot be taken out of Germany.
Perhaps what Obama is hoping for our children?
This is probably out future here in the U.S. Homeschooling will probably be made illegal one day. Can’t have kids missing that government indoctrination!
How much press coverage has this received in Germany? With Merkel running for re-election this would be a good time to bring it to the fore front.
The Wunderlichs had to agree to send their kids to public school before their kids were returned to them.
Disgusting. But I certainly don’t blame the parents. Imagine the hell they went through.
I wonder how many hours each night they will have to spend deprogramming their children? I know that my Brother and Sister In Law deprogrammed and enlightened their children each evening before they were able to home school.
Germany is a social state... not for everyone’s taste. I’ve never quite understood, was the Wunderlich’s issue that they just wanted to homeschool period... or for religious reasons? Both BaWu and Bayern have excellent educational systems... and there is no separation of church and state in Germany. Your children have to take religious instruction, for christians it’s either Catholic or Evangelic.
There are also private religious schools, I can’t imagine that they found not one suitable.
RE: With Merkel running for re-election this would be a good time to bring it to the fore front.
She just won a third term today. The fact that she did nothing in her first two terms means that nothing will change in this area.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.