Children Taken From Caring Parents At Gunpoint

 

 

Homeschooling Home Raided in Germany 

The two older Wunderlich children stand outside the government school they
are forced to attend

     In August of 2013 a judge ordered the removal of four children (ages 7-14) from their parents, Dirk and Petra Wunderlich because they homeschool in Germany which is against current laws in Germany.  A SWAT-style raid was made of their home and the children were removed at gunpoint.  They had just started their homeschool day when they heard the doorbell ring.  Dirk went to see a large group of people with guns approaching the house.  This is his description as related to Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA):
 
“I looked through a window and saw many people, police, and special agents, all armed. They told me they wanted to come in to speak with me. I tried to ask questions, but within seconds, three police officers brought a battering ram and were about to break the door in, so I opened it."

“The police shoved me into a chair and wouldn’t let me even make a phone call at first.” ... “It was chaotic as they told me they had an order to take the children. At my slightest movement the agents would grab me, as if I were a terrorist. You would never expect anything like this to happen in our calm, peaceful village. It was like a scene out of a science fiction movie. Our neighbors and children have been traumatized by this invasion.”

 Dirk said that his 14-year-old daughter Machsejah had to be forcibly taken out of the home.  He said,

“When I went outside, our neighbor was crying as she watched. I turned around to see my daughter being escorted as if she were a criminal by two big policemen. They weren’t being nice at all. When my wife tried to give my daughter a kiss and a hug goodbye, one of the special agents roughly elbowed her out of the way and said—‘It’s too late for that.’ What kind of government acts like this?”

     The parents were threatened by the police that they would not see their children "anytime soon."  The children were forcefully taken from the sanctuary of their home to places undisclosed to their parents.  The children were taken to a group home and forced to be tested (for which the family was later given a bill for nearly $20,000).  They were found to be doing well both socially and academically.  After 21 days of captivity and an international outcry they were returned to their parents, but only after forcing the parents to agree to send the children to the government school.  The parents agreed to send their children to the school for the time being.  This is how Dirk described it:


The younger children entering the
school on their first day in the system

“What other choice did we have?” .... “They had our children. We feel ravaged by the government. We don’t want our children in school but we have no choice—we can’t leave and if we don’t comply they will take our children away. We will make the best of it because we know if we tried to leave, the authorities would separate us and we might never see our children again or for a very long time.”

     The situation has disrupted their close-knit family life, but the children are adapting to their environment quite well considering the situation they find themselves in.  Dirk describes what the children are now experiencing:

“Now the little ones go to school from 8–12:30 and the elder until 1:00. We are home together for lunch. Then they have homework to do,” he said. “The children find it strange and have commented on how confusing the school environment is. They tell me ‘Papa, the teacher takes a lot of time explaining what we must do and telling the other children to be quiet. We don’t get to actually do most work until we get home.’ My youngest son says he misses working on his projects.”

“I think homeschooling is much more effective because you can actually do the work and don’t have to lose time on all the other things that go into school.” ... “We hope with all our heart to get back to homeschooling somehow.”

      The family has desired to emigrate to a neighboring country where homeschooling is legal, but the judge has made it clear that if they go anywhere before a December hearing they will face criminal sanctions.  The judge vowed to hunt them down if they were to get over the border.  Hundreds of homeschool families have fled the country including the high profile Romeike family.

     Of all rights that a person might have in a country I believe that the ability of a parent to raise and train his own children is among the top. It is among those things that are called unalienable rights because God gave children to parents and not the state. The most fundamental rights are being challenged today. Though our culture has a tendency of looking at children simply as a product of biology that we choose to have or not to have, it does not change the fact that they are eternal souls given to parents by the everlasting Creator on loan. We learn from the teachings of Jesus Christ that those that harm children are under a curse. It is a fearful thing to think of the consequences that will be faced by those that would seek to remove them from their rightful guardians.  The Wunderlich family recognise the lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ and live their lives and follow their conscience guided by their deep abiding faith in God.

     There are barriers in Germany that prevent freedom of education because the country has been seeped in cultural and educational conformity for many years.  The recognition of unalienable rights is not understood by many, and some people have even seen this persecuted family as criminals.  This family is only practicing what millions of families in the United States do every day.  People of faith.... Pray.  Lovers of freedom.... speak out for those that are oppressed. It is my prayer that by sharing this story that more people will find the idea of viewing parents simply as incubators of statist property to be repulsive and that actions will taken to ensure that educational freedom prevails throughout the United States, Germany and other countries.  



German homeschoolers come to the support of the
Wunderlich family.

Sources:

http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Germany/201308300.asp

 http://wunderlich-children.com/en

http://www.ecumenicalnews.com/article/home-school-family-raided-by-german-police-children-removed-22424

http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/europe/item/16899-officials-refuse-to-let-persecuted-homeschool-family-leave-germany