Childfree and Living in Germany? The Shunning Has Begun
15 10 2007There’s a rather sinister move afoot in Europe. In an effort to stem the rapidly falling birth rate by increasing the number of babies born, several European countries have gone on the offensive – in more ways than one. Bribes to have children, sweeteners in terms of money for additional children, generous leave allowances, not to mention tax breaks are all lined up to coax more babies out of women who have either decided they don’t want children or are waverers.
Europe is ratcheting up the ante more aggressively every day. Generous allowances have appeared to work in France and even Spain is coming out with a plan to pay Spanish women 2,5000 euros to breed more and – and breed faster.
But this isn’t really news. We can expect childed and childed to be much better off than their childfree counterparts if this trend continues, as sickening as that is. What is more disturbing is Germany’s increasingly aggressive stance. That stance is not only to bribe women for breeding more, but also, just to be on the safe side, to stigmatise the childfree.
Does this bring back not so faint echoes of something equally sinister that happened, let’s see now… just over 60 years ago? Then, like now there is a growing backlash against a group of people. This time it’s the childfree. It has found its way into the media through books and it’s now being articulated at levels of government.
Childfree News has aptly captured most of these. They are so sinister that they are worth repeating many times more:
- German bestseller lists suddenly being full of overtones of impending doom and gloom because of the dearth of kids
- Scare-mongering tactics by authors and patently unfair calls upon women to “save the day” [by having babies]
- Childfree women being stigmatised in the German media as “cold hard career-women” Seemingly having kids makes them warm soft and “womanly”
- The attack on German Prime Minister Angela Merkel back in 2005, where her then rival criticized her because she didn’t have children, saying she did not “embody the experience of most women
Germany, which still hasn’t completely shaken off it’s bad rap for persecution of Jews, Poles and anyone else who wasn’t the majority, seems not to have learned from history. The target has changed. Now childfree (and yes, childless) women are increasingly being discriminated against in an effort to make women do something they didn’t already want to to. It makes me wonder – Is the thinking that tossing enough money at them will make woman change their minds about having children? While there may be some women who may see the bribes to breed as too tempting to refuse – and a good deal if they intended to have kids anyway – 67% of salary isn’t to be sneezed at – there are other women who for what ever reason do not wish to pro-create. Not even to save the day or the government.
The Government’s pro-natalist plans might back-fire. I think they will. Then again, if the discrimination increases, and there is nothing to counter it life in Germany for childfree women is going to become decidedly uncomfortable. And not just because they’d be paying for those perks for the childed.
Might be time for some Childfree Germans to start thinking about living in another country.
One that isn’t in the throes of developing an anti-childfree diktat.
That is, if it isn’t already too late.
Falling Birthrates in Europe Prompt Bribes, Shunning of Childless
European Governments Battle Battle the Continents Birth Dearth
Technorati Tags: childfree, childfree, childfree
I can’t believe Germany of all places is trying this…again. They’re so haunted by their history that they almost never do anything that even remotely resembles it. And they’ve already done the “birth for the fatherland” thing, as mercurior mentioned. Today, the children of Lebensborn almost never speak about that aspect of their lives, it’s too shameful.
I don’t think the childfree are or will become the new Jews. That spot’s already taken by the immigrant community (which is, in all likelihood, the reason why they’ve come up with this crap to begin with). What really surprises me is that the government would take this stance seeing as how the government is led by Merkel, who has no kids herself. The Chancellor leads all the policy initiatives in the country; you’d think she’d leave that whole arena alone.
Living in Germany myself, I cannot quite agree with this post. While it is true that this subject of ‘childfree women vs. mothers’ is brought up frequently in the media nowadays, this is far from anything that happened during the NS area.
As a childfree woman, I do not feel discriminated against or attacked, expect maybe by some people with extreme views. But these people are a minority.
And while the government is trying to help families and to encourage woman to give birth, they do certainly not advocate producing ‘aryan’ children.
Also, a rennaissance of conservative views (women should stay at home with the children and not make career for themselves etc.) can be seen all over Europe and also in the US. This is not something ‘typically German’.
Women are “soft and womanly” when they have children? Try telling that to a kid who has been abused and neglected by their “loving” mom.
@jati - I hope you also read the two links on which I (at least in part) based my opinion. And Mercuriors comment above. While I’m not saying that the aim in Germany is to build a “master race” , Germany’s aggressive programs in favour of childbearing do stand out against the rest of Europe because of what appears to be government and media sanctioned bias directed against the childfree. The rest of Europe doesn’t seem to be quite as aggressive. I would be very happy to be wrong on on this one.
By that I mean that in pro-natal Germany, one group isn’t stigmatized just to promote another. The thought that childfree people are treated differently simply because they refuse to pro-create is very distatasteful. it’s discrimination. But that’s what’s happening and once started it’s unlikely to stop there. One last note, I think parents being able to recoup 67% of salary if they have a child is a little more than “encouragement.”
The thing is, everything starts somewhere. And it usually starts small, rather like the frog in the pan of water.
@strawberry - yes, fear of the immigrants over-breeding the “native population” has, I believe got governments very worried. What seems to have escaped govt is that there is a good reason that women have decided that having children isn’t something they want to contemplate - and it isn’t always financial. I would actually think Angela Merkel would do somthing to at least see that there is some balance - especially since she knows what it’s like to be on the receiving end of that bias.
@Hilari - good point.
@mercurior - Scary. And shameful. And I didn’t miss it was in response to falling birthrates… here we are again with mothers getting the best of it. At least that seems to be the plan.
Britgirl, I can see your point about ‘breeders’ being treated differently than childfree people, especially since they seem to receive some privileges because they decided to have children.
But I do not agree that Germany has been particularly aggressive about this. Other countries like France, Sweden, Netherlands and Denmark have had very child- and parent-friendly regulations for years. And nobody has compared these regulations to programmes like Lebensborn.
Since Angela Merkel was mentioned here: I would like to bring up the German Minister of Family, Ursula von der Leyen. She is in contrast to Angela Merkel a ’supermother’ with seven children and still worked as a doctor most of the time, and of course is a strong advocate for having children.
But she is being strongly criticized and ridiculed, by fellow politicians as well as the media and the people. She receives infinitely more criticism than Angela Merkel, so it seems that most Germans (especially women) do not at all agree with this kind of attitude.
As I said, I can see your point, but seeing Germany as the leader in a ‘pro-children’ movement is not accurate.
well jati, a little research will show that the lebensborn were created to increase birth rates, thats a fact. the mothers got better food better everything for having children. thats a fact as well.
now just update it, this pro natal society in germany and the uk, and everywhere (its because germany did bad versions that we look closer), instead of more food, they get money.
“Until the last days of the war, the mothers and the children got the best treatment available, including food, even though many others in the area were starving” now it does mean reading and holding 2 thoughts at once. increased childbirth rate, and rewarding those that have children.
now can you seriously say thats not happening, the european community is in fact a rehash of the old conquered countries. and they are doing exactly what happened 60 years ago.
same causes, same solutions. no change. just look at the expensive medical interventions when it comes to children. look at the extra tax breaks, look at the baby bonds, look at the giving money. if that isnt the same as what happened in lebensborn i dont know what is.
but then again people forget that part. germany is at the forefront because of the past, and they should be leading by example to make it never happen again.
I had a lot to write and decided I’ll sum it up:
)
1) Not everyone can be ‘bought’
2) Quality of life is worth more than just a set amount of money
3) Not having children is not always about lack of money. (Just look at America’s teen birth rate.
4) This may actually backfire because the people who *need* money are probably of the “stripe” of person the government is trying to outbreed.
Mercurior, this is brilliant:
I think you hit it straight on the head as to why Germany is being criticized. I can’t even expand on that it’s just so spot on.
@jati - I can’t really add much to mercurior and CFsince 6’s comments,because they’ve said it. I respect your opinion, but I also think Germany is being more aggressive than its fellow Europeans. Evidently so does the news article. In Germany, as in most European countries trying to up the birth/breeding rate it seems they too think it’s all throwing money at something to solve the “problem.” Frankly all those countries would be better off ensuring all people have access to opportunities to create wealth, regardless of whether they ahve children instead of coaxing higher reproduction rates. That way the Govt won’t have to worry about the lack of worker bees to support the ageing population.
BritGirl, you mentioned how governments are worried about a “lack of worker bees to support the ageing population.” Made me think of an interesting dynamic: Countries may be finding themselves top-heavy with retirees, but dishing out welfare-by-the-baby isn’t the solution. Many European countries have unemployment rates of 10% or higher. What good is it to breed all these worker bees when there’s no jobs for them to slave away at? All you end up with then is a society top-heavy with retirees and unemployed people on the public dole. Retirees x More Unemployed x All This Welfare-By-The-Baby = Lots of expense, little revenue.