Adoption is one of the most difficult brick walls for investigative genetic genealogists to overcome, and something that DNA Doe Project’s volunteers encounter in nearly every case they work. Adoption bifurcates the research, creating a disconnect between a family tree reflecting the lived experience and relationship structure of a family and the biological connections defined in their DNA. IGGs work to reconcile this disconnect and find their way to the name that a Doe used in life.
In Episode 3 of Naming the Dead, the team are faced with a family tree that includes international adoption, World War II era records in Germany, and separated siblings who might never have met again if it wasn’t for DNA Doe Project’s work on the case of Apache Junction Jane Doe. Their reunion is one of the most emotional scenes in the series.
The “Brown Babies Program”, spearheaded by journalist Mabel Grammer and her army officer husband, was an effort to bring the children of Black American soldiers and German women to the United States, to be adopted by Black families. These children and their mothers faced extreme levels of racism and discrimination in Germany, and Grammer alone was responsible for the successful relocation of more than 500 babies and young children.
Few of us were taught anything about this effort in history class, but here are some links learn more:
https://www.history.com/articles/mixed-race-babies-germany-world-war-ii
https://www.aacvr-germany.org/transatlantic-adoption-and-brown-babies
https://sumac.space/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1.1lemkemunizdefaria2003-1.pdf
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/06/obituaries/mabel-grammer-overlooked.html
