Lives Less Ordinary

I didn’t know I was part of an experiment


Listen Later

When Greenlander Helene Thiesen was just seven, two Danish men came to take her away.

In 1951, Greenland native Helene Thiesen was just seven years old when two Danish men knocked at the family home. That moment would shape the rest of her life. These men, acting at the invitation of the Danish colonial government were rounding up the brightest Inuit children and sending them to live in Denmark to be re-educated as model Danish citizens or ‘little Danes’. Helene suffered terribly from being separated from her mother and siblings and it would take her many decades to discover the horrible truth behind it all: she was part of an experiment. Of the 22 children that were taken, Helene is now one of the few survivors.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar

Producer: Edgar Maddicott
Translator: Alette Rye Scales
Voice: Julia Holden

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Lives Less OrdinaryBy BBC World Service

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

467 ratings


More shows like Lives Less Ordinary

View all
Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,721 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,046 Listeners

Woman's Hour by BBC Radio 4

Woman's Hour

400 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,444 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,806 Listeners

Witness History by BBC World Service

Witness History

951 Listeners

The History Hour by BBC World Service

The History Hour

586 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,808 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,071 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,930 Listeners

Desert Island Discs by BBC Radio 4

Desert Island Discs

2,062 Listeners

Great Lives by BBC Radio 4

Great Lives

520 Listeners

File on 4 Investigates by BBC Radio 4

File on 4 Investigates

40 Listeners

The Inquiry by BBC World Service

The Inquiry

734 Listeners

The Audio Long Read by The Guardian

The Audio Long Read

841 Listeners

All in the Mind by BBC Radio 4

All in the Mind

83 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,184 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

753 Listeners

Life Changing by BBC Radio 4

Life Changing

60 Listeners

Cyber Hack by BBC World Service

Cyber Hack

1,626 Listeners

History's Heroes by BBC Radio 4

History's Heroes

503 Listeners

The Gift by BBC Radio 4

The Gift

83 Listeners

Intrigue by BBC Radio 4

Intrigue

177 Listeners

Strangers on a Bench by Tom Rosenthal

Strangers on a Bench

705 Listeners