Karin Maria Abeles, one of the 4,000 Greek children adopted by parents outside Greece in the decades after World War 2, recounts her personal story that had a happy ending on “Our Global Voice” with Dimitris Kontogiannis.
Karin Abeles, who was born here in December 1962, was left at the front door of the Mitera nursery from which she was adopted a few months later in 1963 by Austrian parents who worked in Nigeria but had previously emigrated to Britain from Austria. Her adoptive father was one of the last Jews to leave Austria in 1939, while her adoptive mother, who was a Catholic from Austria, worked for the Red Cross in London where they met. Her adoptive parents had adopted another disabled girl no one from Mother wanted in 1961. In order to be able to adopt the two children, they payed 6 and 10 thousand drachmas in the Nursery in 1961 and 1963 respectively while they changed religion and embraced Lethurianism to comply with the adoption requirements.
Karin Abales managed through DNA testing to find her brother Mark in the Netherlands in 2021 and reconnect with her other biological brother Takis in Greece and her 83-year-old mother.
“Our Global Voice” with Petros Diplas and Dimitris Kontogiannis features prominent people of the Greek Diaspora, including scientists, politicians and entrepreneurs who share with us their meaningful experiences and their enhanced viewpoint.