Six people taken as children from Greenland to Denmark as part of a social experiment received an apology from the Danish government on Wednesday for an exercise that "never should have happened."
A group of 22 children from Greenland - six of whom are still alive - were taken from their families in 1951 and sent to Denmark, in an effort to create the conditions that would give them a better life. They were taught the Danish language and groomed to be part of elite society in the hopes that they would play a key role in developing society in Greenland and Denmark.
However, the experiment didn't go quite as planned. Six of the children were adopted in Denmark, but the other 16 were eventually sent back to Greenland, where they ended up in an orphanage rather than being reunited with their families.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen issued the apology in the name of her country at a ceremony at the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen. She called the experiment heartless and inhumane.
Frederiksen had already apologized for the programme by letter in 2020. Survivors of the programme have also received about 250,000 krone ($36,500) in damages.
Kristine Heinesen, one of the 22, told Greenland broadcaster KNR that receiving an official apology felt like an official ending point had been reached.
Frederiksen plans to make another personal apology when she travels to Greenland in the coming weeks.
