3. TIL: Nazis abducted 200,000 Polish children claiming some were the descendants o...

TIL: Nazis abducted 200,000 Polish children claiming some were the descendants of Germans that had emigrated to Poland. Those evaluated as "Aryan-looking” were adopted by German families; some grew up believing they were German. Only 20% are estimated to have reunited with their families post-war.

That is the origin of the story concerning the Pied Piper. Instead of a rat catcher the Piper was actually a Roman salesman of sorts. Looking to entice poor native germans to colonize into new lands (Poland) Rome would send these smartlooking and sweet talkin' salesmen into tribal villages. They would promise money and whatnot but when that failed they just offered to buy people's children. If times were hard enough people would sell and Rome would use the slave kids to clear and farm new land. The parents were, no doubt, ashamed by this and eventually the story of the Pied Piper came around to not only mourn the missing children but also provide cover for the parents.

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