ADVERTISEMENT

No country is without sin. And nobody has a clean slate. There are a lot of unpalatable secrets lurking in any country’s history and present. Even though it might be uncomfortable dragging them into the spotlight, acknowledging these less-than-savory facts is the first step to solving the issues in the first place.

The redditors living in Europe opened up about the dark facts about their home countries in a brutally honest thread over on r/AskEurope. These facts might not be for everyone, so fair warning, some of the things you might read are darker than dark.

If you’d like to share some lesser-known dark secrets about your home country, Pandas, you can do so in the comment section once you’re done reading this list.

#1

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of Spain.

During the Francoist regime, many single mothers were told their newborn children were dead. They weren’t allowed to see the corpse, and the baby, which wasn’t dead, was given to a married couple. Many years later, the graves of many of these supposedly dead babies were found to be empty. This was done with the absolute cooperation of the Catholic church.

alexblmz , Kat J Report

Add photo comments
POST
Ivan Stojnov
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not just given. SOLD BY CATHOLIC CURCH. They took about 50.000 babies in less then 3 decades and made BILLIONS !!

Wilko Lunenburg
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't understand why the catholic church still is not recognized as a criminal organization.

anarkzie
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They have been on the wrong side of history on so many issue that I have to wonder that as well.

Load More Replies...
Freya the Wanderer
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I jow several ex-Catholics, and one said he left when he decided it is morally bankrupt. I have a feeling he's right

Load More Replies...
Andi
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

in Ireland they let over 9,000 children die and disposed of the bodies - they are only now being found https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ireland-church-children-tuam-idUSKBN29I1SO

H Edwards
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How the Catholic Church still has so many followers is beyond my comprehension.

Ines Olabarria-Smith
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Single mothers and poor families. Also babies from the “wrong” families (losing side of the war). This awful practice has happened all over Europe. In nazi Germany too.

Altea
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not only during the Francoist regime, this happened well into the 90's. Up until a new law was passed by which adoptions were handled by the government. Before they were all managed by the hospitals, many of them catholic, hence the corruption in the process. And they weren't all single mothers, sometimes just women with low incomes, even if they were married. In many cases they had a frozen dead baby that they would show the mother to convinced her she/he had died. This makes me so angry...

Hseed
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ehmmm... I may add the nurses at the hospital showed a dead corpse (obviously not the child from the poor victims, that was the one that was sold). They held that corpse in a sort of refrigerator to show it, just in case there was no "fresh" one to show. And in some cases the families that adopted didn't know anything about the origin of the kid. Seems like a chapter from American Horror Story but it's true, I hope there's a special kind of hell for those who were involved in any part of the process...

Agnes Jekyll
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Watch the movie Philomena--it's an adaptation of one of these women and the child who was stolen from her.

Load More Replies...
IlovemydogShilo
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This happened in Ireland too. I HATE the Catholic church and unfortunately I was raised a Catholic.

Jaaawn
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Things are always gonna turn shady when the Catholic Church gets involved.

Wesley Lucas
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The atrocities that have occurred within the Catholic Church, with the full knowledge and cooperation of those in authority, are almost too many to quantify. I get that some people need religion and that Catholicism is part of their culture/family/identity/etc. but at what point does that need stop being as important as being associated with a criminal organization that has wrought literal hell on this earth for so many people?! Who wants to be stuck having to defend what is clearly indefensible?

Alex Ernst
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Something similar happened in Argentina during the Dirty War. Because obviously a single mother can't compare to the moral fiber of a rich couple on good terms with a facist regime.

Jo Choto
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is true of WAY too many countries, sometimes to single mothers, often to native women or women of colour. It's disgusting.

Patrick O'Harris
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As if I need more reasons to hate the church. But hey, one more is one more I guess

Rosemary Probert
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Single mothers were regarded as unfit to raise a child, (nobody had anything to say about the fathers who impregnated the women then left them to get on with it alone) and they were often poor too, " irresponsible and unable to support themselves, never mind a child"so the authorities decided it was in the best interest of the children to put them with "proper" families who would "raise them to be moral citizens". No doubt the Catholic church thought this was the right thing to do, and when you could receive a nice "donation" as well....... go to "proper" families.

Load More Replies...
Catherine Rose
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A book that portrays these tragic events from a personal perspective is “The Fountain of Silence” by Ruta Sepetys. It’s book meant for a young adult audience but the story dives deep into the lives of people from different backgrounds during that time. Definitely recommend.

Emmydearest
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It was also quite common to practice hysterectomy to women who already had many children without their consent. You are 40 and already have 10 kids? That's enough. Off with the uterus!

Huddo's sister
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same thing happened in Australia (and other places in the world). Just last week the Australian (or maybe just Victoria, I've forgotten) government apologised to the women who were forced to giving up babies in forced adoption, but there were ones that were lied to about still births too, including ones who became part of 'the family' cult. I don't think an apology changes much, most women will have grieved or are still grieving, but at least there is acknowledgement.

John Frohlich
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So much for that religion,& nothing has ever been done to that church,Catholics have had a bad terrible past.

Betsy Novack
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why am I not surprised it involved the Catholic Church. It said you should find a way to endure getting beat up by hubby and wanted the followers to bail put up the money they owe victims of abuse. Religion has more sinners than saints. Do as I say. Not as I do.

Bob Standen
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hate what the Catholic church has done to people all over the world. Pedo priests, sadistic, frustrated nuns, greedy Bishops, the list goes on.

ben woskje
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"This was done with the absolute cooperation of the Catholic church." As if thats some type of surprise.... ffs - read some history.... if you want monstrous acts of moral depravity against children... the catholic church is your #1 source for that stuff.

ZAPanda
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

so child trafficking. Should this not be raised at the ICC?

Kimberly Herbert
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The Catholic Church involved with Human Trafficking = if you are surprised you have not been paying attention.

Rosanna Jackson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How are people still catholic? It's one of the greatest crime organizations in the history of the world but the talk about Jesus so it's OK? Come o

Tx jac
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That is out and out sad and despicable. Every day it seems like I learn some new evil that exists amongst us

Bubbles and sparks
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The Catholic Church is responsible for so many crimes... Many Pope regimes were the worst of the worst... Look up the Borgia pope for example... But, then again, it's not only the Catholics that murdered/silences the people they think are wrong, the Islamic ideologie can match the dark history of the Catholics easy... and they are not the only ones... but I think they are debet to the highest numbers of killing innocents and putting women in a position were they were/are subject to oppression in many areas.

Julia Martínez
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nuns were terrifying during the regime... Both of my grandmas have quite a lot of stories with them. they were lucky with this particular fact of the stolen babies, but...yeah. They were as soldiers, but instead of guns, they had...other methods (including psycological abuse). My maternal grandma was very bullied at the hospital when she had an abortion (right before she said that she was, indeed, married, and that ended the issue). My other grandma had to fight for the seemingly easy act of naming her daughter! They named the children according with the saint of the day. And the moms had little to none right objection (suffer the nun's rage, maybe...).

Teresa Stabler
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They have even had some popes killed off so they could put someone they favored more at the time in.

Anjelika
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Spain its kind of taboo to speak about Franco so all we learned was from school in history, this I didn't know 😔😔

Belandriel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow.... I begin to feel that leaving the institution is not enough, if you know what I mean.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#2

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of England. I don’t know how unknown this is but Alan Turing who helped to break Nazis’ enigma code was arrested for being gay and was chemically castrated by the government he helped years ago. He was banned from GCHQ and the US which greatly effected his career. He killed himself in 1954.

psychoghost847 , unknown Report

Add photo comments
POST
Guy MacGregor
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is a well known fact. They even made a movie about it starring Benedict Counterstrike

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#3

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of In Italy a r*pist could marry his victim to avoid any legal persecution (this practice was called "matrimonio riparatore"). The women were pressed to accept the marriage to avoid social shame. Franca Viola, in 1948, was the first woman to refuse to marry her r*pist, but this practice was abolished by law only in 1981.

leady57 , Sandy Millar Report

ADVERTISEMENT

User u/AkruX explained that they were inspired to create the thread on r/AskEurope after learning that their home country, the Czech Republic (aka Czechia), was at one point ranked the third-worst slavery haven in the entirety of Europe. They were completely shocked by this.

Very recently, Bored Panda spoke to Brooke Burris, who chairs the Tri-County Human Trafficking Task Force in the Charleston area in South Carolina. She went into detail with us about human trafficking. It’s a deep-seated problem that is global, not located in just any one or two countries.

According to Brooke, people care about fighting against human trafficking more when they realize that it’s a local problem. 

#4

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of Sweden used to treat Sami natives in northen Sweden as second class citizens for the longest time and we barely learn about it in school. As late as the 70s Sami children were still forcefully taken from their Sami parents and adopted by Swedish parents to ”make them Swedish”

Swedishboy360 , Linus Mimietz Report

#5

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of Norway. How terrible we have suppressed the Sami people and how we forcefully assimilated them in order to “fit in” with the “Norwegian culture”. And how the racism against them still exist very much to this day. They are still treated horrible by Norwegians and we are barely learned anything about their history in our schools.

ClementineMandarin , Mikita Karasiou Report

Add photo comments
POST
Kesam
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also, Norway is one of the world's biggest exporters of weapons.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#6

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of Poland is ranked as the most homophobic country in the EU

g_guacamole , Valentyn Chernetskyi Report

Add photo comments
POST
Sam
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Is this actually a surprise? I mean Poland publicly announced "gay free zones"

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

"The U.S. Dept. of State has recognized that trafficking is a global problem, solved on the local level through a multidisciplinary response. The more local one's focus on the nature and prevalence of the issue, the better and truer understanding one will have as to both (1) the scale of trafficking and (2) how they specifically can take ownership of the problem and become a part of the solution,” she explained.

The expert noted that human trafficking is a far broader and more complex problem than it’s presented in movies. 

"Kidnapping and using physical force/coercion is only one means by which a trafficker can control a victim," she said.

#7

NOBODY answered from the USA!? SO MANY...but I've always thought that how the land was taken from the original inhabitants one of the worst things this 'land of the free' has done.
The massacres, the forced relocations, the infecting with smallpox, the loss of their identity as independent peoples...the list just goes on.
Continued up until taking Hawaii away from the ruling monarchy in the 1800's.

Report

Add photo comments
POST
Guy MacGregor
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No one haven't because it is such a recent and new nation there aren't much in the end. (Not saying there isn't at all, but their history is still quite short, and nothing they did hasn't been done before by others.)

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#8

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of Australia. Basically everything to do with the First Nations/Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Mostly the stolen generations but there was a whole lot more f*cked up sh*t.

superweevil , Joey Csunyo Report

Add photo comments
POST
Caro Caro
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The stories about stolen generations is so terribly sad and heartbreaking. Children ripped away from their mothers arms to be brought up by others (whites). This has caused so much damage it's indescribable. https://www.commonground.org.au/learn/the-stolen-generations#:~:text=The%20Stolen%20Generations%20refers%20to,through%20a%20policy%20of%20assimilation.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#9

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of Turkey. There is overwhelming violence against women in Turkey. And the first thing [anyone] asks: well, what was she wearing?, what is she doing there this late?

IAmNoSherlock , Satria SP Report

"In fact, according to a report of prosecuted sex trafficking cases in the U.S., 59% of coercive tactics used by traffickers were non-physical, compared to 41% of tactics involving physical coercion. Further, transportation is merely one type of action used by a trafficker,” Brooke told us.

Though it’s unlikely that human trafficking will be fully rooted out globally or in any particular country, it is vital to limit its scope.

“Until the Lord comes, I think evil will always exist in our world. Therefore, if I'm honest, I don't think we will be able to eradicate human trafficking entirely," Brooke said that it’s important to keep fighting injustice, but it’s equally vital to be realistic about the scope of the problem.

ADVERTISEMENT
#10

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of Spain is only second to Cambodia for missing persons cases that were never resolved.

There is a government run online search tool for finding mass graves.

iwishiwasapuppy , Sam Williams Report

#11

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of France. Forced sterilization of intellectually disabled people was a very common thing until the early 2000s. There's now a law requiring consent since 2001, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn forced sterilization still happens.

80sBabyGirl , Paul Gaudriault Report

Add photo comments
POST
Ausrine Ciapaite
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actually I heard of this happening in Lithuania to this day. The reason why? Because when a mentally disabled person lives in a mixed-sexes institution, it's impossible to keep them away and romance does happen more often than you think. (I don't know what happens to same sex institution). Unfortunately people there often don't realise they should use birth control ( because of their permeant mental conditions). The person is unable to care for their child so the baby would end up in an orphanage which would hurt both: parents and the child. I know it's a controversial topic and it's hard to decide what is right or wrong here.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#12

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of Portugal has massive problem with domestic violence (including femicide and child abuse). Strict catholic patriarchy was THE rule until 1974, so it's still hanging around in older generations and trickling down on their descendants. And most offenders get off with a slap on the wrist because we still have courts full of old ass judges.

SerChonk , Milada Vigerova Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#13

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of I think many people, that don't live in german-speaking countries, don't know that Austria was a fascist dictatorship for 4 years before the Anschluss

RapAddictedAustrian , Dimitry Anikin Report

Add photo comments
POST
ADHORTATOR
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

they surrendered without firing one shot in 1938 and embraced the Nazis...after the war they considered themself as the first victims of Nazi Germany....

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#14

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of Huge collaboration of Dutch people during WW2 , snitching where people were hiding. Supporting the Nazis, joining the forces.

The Dutch railway company (NS) transported Jews, Sinti and Roma to Germany.

Royal Dutch Shell reported their jewish employees to the Nazis to be deported.

ZapSpar , Bundesarchiv Report

Add photo comments
POST
Mr Zipperface
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

All occupied countries had an element of collaboration, collaborators were mostly looking out for themselves although there was a lot of score settling too, people are people the world over.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#15

Netherlands. In 1620, the Dutch East India Company committed genocide on the people on the Indonesian Banda Islands, under the flag of the Dutch fleet. Murdered 95% of the population as punishment. Their crime? Selling nutmeg to the Portuguese and the English.

I don't even like nutmeg that much. Their population still isn't at the level it was before the genocide.

Slobberinho Report

Add photo comments
POST
Caro Caro
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The VOC was a very powerful company. They didn't care about the suffering they inflicted, it's all about the money and power and influence. Not something to be proud of. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_conquest_of_the_Banda_Islands

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#16

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of In Ireland we were under such control of the Catholic church until 2000s. Our constitution was drawn up with their approval and still says that women have a role in the home. Anyway the control of the church meant that the church got away with shielding and transferring paedophile priests ( well known). The not so well known was the following three things outside Ireland are:

Mother and baby homes - This was where unwed mothers were brought. They were a shamed, has their children taken away. The children either died or were adopted illegally to Irish and American families. They also burned their records and one in Tuam Co Galway dumped the bodies of many children who died in a septic tank (tank where sewage is stored from houses not connected to the main sewage system).

Magdalene Laundries - this was where runways and some troubles were brought. They were slaves in a laundry and received nothing and were treated terribly and the religious orders made money off the backs of this slavery. The last one wasn't closed till the 90s which is messed up.

Also corporal punishment in schools until the late 60s early 70s especially in industrial schools (some of which were for troubled boys and the abuse there was messed up.

So yes we have a dark past. Now it makes sense why there are few young Catholics in Ireland. We don't mention it much but we know and it makes me ashamed and I'm 25.

diffles2 , Alejandro Luengo Report

Add photo comments
POST
XenoMurph
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In my school we had a "priest" who had been moved for "accusations". And was moved from our school for a similar thing. But he was badly beaten, as he was coming out of the church one night. The story was that he was mugged and the contributions were stolen but we all thought if was for other reasons. This was late 80s as things were starting to change. The catholic church was losing support fast by then as the stories were coming out. Father Ted had a big effect on breaking the spell the church held over the country.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#17

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of Germany. Female genital mutilation in Germany. It makes me incredibly angry as it is an more or less unpunished crime for decades now and nothing is done really.

Every few years, when sombody decides to report about it measures are announced, but nothing will be really done.

Schnauze-Lutscher , Zohre Nemati Report

Add photo comments
POST
Caro Caro
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is because the immigrants from certain countries mutilate their young girls mostly when on holiday... Unfortunately it's hard to prove and control. I think it would help if the women were better educated and taught about the consequences (bodily harm and legal). Some mothers don't want this for their daughters but are pressured by relatives... It's terribly sad.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#18

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of Russia. Most Russians actually support their government and especially Putin

Looz-Ashae , Kremlin.ru Report

Add photo comments
POST
Caro Caro
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Brainwashed into thinking that the outside world is against you, don't underestimate the fear when living in a regime / dictatorship. Russians aren't stupid, just scared.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#19

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of The regional languages in France were progressively replaced by French from 1789. Only a few are still remaining (mostly those who aren't understandable by a French speaker, like Breton, Basque, Corsican, Alsatian, Francoprovençal etc.) but apparently more than 90% of our regional languages are now dead. You only find them in regional accents.

MapsCharts , anthony Choren Report

Add photo comments
POST
Sam
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

France actually outlawed specific letters needed to write in Breton. Like the Turks have done with Kurdish.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#20

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of Georgia. State of LGBT rights. They are non-existent, you can easily get killed by religious people and nobody will give a sh*t.

Gioware , daniel james Report

Add photo comments
POST
Sam
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Georgian "patriots" publicly murdered a journalist covering the storming of an LGBTQ rights building

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#21

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of France. I'd say war against colonised Algeria. It is really a shameful thing involving war crimes, torture, ... A lot of veterans won't talk about it because of how ashamed they feel.

Look it up.

Grand_Papi , Levi Meir Clancy Report

Add photo comments
POST
ZAPanda
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But yeah, keep complaining about immigrants from Africa when they come to france to live somewhere that ISNT a mess as a result of colonial violence? Irony abounds.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#22

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of Lithuania often ranks among the top countries by suicide rates. It's like ~1/4000 lithunians is gonna kill themselves.

TheMantasMan , Victor Malyushev Report

Add photo comments
POST
Firstname Lastname
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Population as of 2020 was 2.795 million according to google, so that's nearly 700 lives voluntarily lost.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#23

United Kingdom.

King Edward VIII was a Nazi sympathiser; he and his wife visited Germany in the 30s to have dinner with Hitler and inspect SS troops.

In the 60s, he is believed to have said to a friend: "I never thought Hitler was such a bad chap."

HailToTheKingslayer Report

Add photo comments
POST
Angelar
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Everybody knows that Wallis Simpson and her husband were Nazi sympathizers, lol

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#24

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of Romania. A few years back there was a scandal of a pediatric doctor that did extremely painful medical experiments on children he was supposed to be treating, such as putting a metal rod near their backs and putting screws into their spines to "fix" scoliosis or something similar with bones he considered weren't growing properly. He mostly targeted poor families, or families with kids with weird conditions because he figured they wouldn't be able to or have the power to question his practices.

Also the fact that it's been revealed several orphanages drug the kids there and tie them to their beds to keep them compliant.

I've also read a religious article of an "exorcism" that was performed on a little kid they called posessed because "he would suddenly go very still and start shaking violently" (to anyone with a brain it's obvious he was just seizing). Instead of following the procedure for a seizure, which is making sure he isn't in danger of hurting himself by bashing his head or something, they rushed him to a church and placed him on the floor there (and it wasn't a soft floor by any means).

Or the fact that we've had gay people thrown in prison for being gay several years after communism fell (I think either late 90's or even early 00's).

Or, not that sinister but just plain stupid and more recent: the church brought "moase" (aka remains of "saints") during the current pandemic and hundreds of people just lined up to kiss them, all on the same spot too :) (it's a /s smile, don't get me wrong).

kriiiiiis , Oksana Gogu Report

Add photo comments
POST
UpupaEpops
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

According to the Romanian Orthodox Church, epilepsy is considered a demonic possession and depression is a sign of lack of faith.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#25

Switzerland.

"Verdingkinder" basically orphans used as slavelabor. They were often mistreated.

There is a movie about it if anyone is intrested

Emochind Report

Add photo comments
POST
Q B F T
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nothing about Switzerland being built on the money of drug dealers, despots, warlords, fraudsters, - and going further back - Nazis? Switzerland: the streets are clean but the money is filthy.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#26

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of In Ireland homosexuality was only decriminalised in 1993, after a 16 year legal battle which ended up in the European Court of Human Rights in 1988 (it took 5 years to implement the courts ruling).

JerHigs , Robert V. Ruggiero Report

Add photo comments
POST
John Carr
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

On the upside, we were the first country to legalise same sex marriage by public vote

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#27

I guess colonization is a dark time for many countries, in Denmark is was no different, but often you talk about the islands is the Caribbean or Africa, but the treatment of Greenlandic people has been absolutely horrible in Denmark.

They have been treated 2. rank citizens, and everything was dictated from Denmark and they had little to no say in it. Still I have heard that higher education in Greenland is taught in Danish not Greenlandic, but they might have changed that?

Plyspeter Report

Add photo comments
POST
ZAPanda
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

https://www.courthousenews.com/denmark-issues-final-apology-for-1950s-social-experiment-on-inuit-children-from-greenland/

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#28

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of Turkey. The years 1980-1983 were very dark years for Turkey - a paranoid nationalist military junta coupled with guerilla warfare in the countryside and massive political repression. Add torture in military prisons, kangaroo courts, and state-funded assassinations to that.

Pardon my French, but the bastard who caused all that died before his jail sentence was approved.

ArcherTheBoi , Svetlana Gumerova Report

#29

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of Greece. We are the only country in EU where the Sharia law is still legal.

jimijoop , Majid Korang beheshti Report

Add photo comments
POST
anarkzie
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm not saying this is not true, as I do not know the facts but this really sounds like b.s. Sharia law is not even 100% practiced in most majority Islamic countries. The far right in the UK makes the same claims over here and what it actually amounts to is Islamic courts of arbitration dealing with Muslims weddings, which are not recognised by UK law on account of a marriage being between 2 people over here, not 1 man and 4 women.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#30

Italy, as many by now know, is a f****d up burocratical nightmare.
Until 1981 there was a law called "Delitto D'Onore" (= Crime in name of someones honor) that stated that people found guilty of kiling someone to maintain the familys reputation would be given a lesser conviction than someone found guilty for the same crime but for other reasons.

If a woman was found committing adultery, it was "legal" to kill her (and her lover in some instances). Of course no one batted an eye when the cheater was the husband. It was extended to families too, the brother or the father could kill a sister/daughter they found out she had an unwedded sexual relationship (EVEN IF SHE WAS SINGLE).


The most (yeah, even more) messed up part was that until 1930 (yeah they realised this was not a top notch idea earlier but still) the husband could kill the children if he knew they weren't his. (there was a weird legal part where they could be killed only if they were less than 5 days old or wasn't registred by the state Register... like AH WELL THAT MAKES IT REASONABLE)

I repeat, the law for Honors Killing was in place until 1981!!
And some people still act as if it was reasonable. No wonders we struggle to eradicate what we call "femminicidio" (=femalemurder, is a term used for the death of women that could be prevented if laws against abuse in marriages/relationship was taken seriously and action taken promptly) to this day.

Report

Add photo comments
POST
AnnaBanana
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I never knew this was a thing in Italy. Middle East and south east Asia, yes. Italy...no.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#31

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of I don't know if it's not known but Italy passed racial laws during WWII.

More recent: the "trattativa stato mafia" aka "state-mafia negotiations" in 1993 and 1994.

Essentially it was a secret negotiation between very high government figures and Sicilian Mafia chiefs, at the end of the "massacre season" in which Mafia carried out literal terrorist attacks, since there was a very strong battle against them carried out by the Palermo group (pool di Palermo).

The prosecutors Falcone and Borsellino died at the end of the massacre season, after they hit hard the Sicilians with the Maxiprocesso (aka Mega-Trial)

giorgio_gabber , Michele Bitetto Report

Add photo comments
POST
Beans
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The story of Falcone and Borsellino is super famous in Italy, and incredibly tragic. They were heroes who fought at risk of their own lives to take down systemic corruption in the government and to eradicate the Sicilian Mafia. The mafia blew up an entire f-king bridge to get Falcone and killed his wife and bodyguards too. Borsellino was assassinated two months later. He kept fighting even after his friend had died and he knew they were out to get him too. I can't imagine living like that and still trying to take down the mafia. They achieved a lot but it's never enough. Even now there is mafia roots in the Italian government. People say Berlusconi has ties to it and a lot of right-wing government. Surprise surprise. It's a big dirty secret even now.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
Continue reading with Bored Panda Premium
Unlimited content
Ad-free browsing
Dark mode
#32

Canada- same colonization rape and pillaging of the natives as most places colonized by the British. Compounded with the forcibly removing native children from their families and putting them into horrifically abusive residential schools (the last of which only closed in the 1990s) and which in the last few years mass unmarked graves have been rediscovered. The loss of languages, the alcoholism, the ‘choose to be status or not’ b******t that gives rights in exchange for culture loss. Canada is seen as a peace touting loving country but it has an awful recent history. And that’s only their treatment of the indigenous. Each ethnic minority has a history of racism and ‘other’ treatment regardless of when in history they/their family immigrated.

Report

Add photo comments
POST
LOttawa
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As a native, I have to say that yes, many, many natives have been treated horribly by the church but I think it's important to know that not all of them were. My great grand-mother was placed in a residential school and I was told that she said the nuns were nice and fair to all the children (they were never beaten). They ate well, learned and played. As for the unmarked graves, there's no proof that the children were murdered. The "schools" started in the 1800's, and they could have passed away from diseases (the Spanish flu for example). In addition, many of them had cemeteries but they were unregistered. I do hope the parents were contacted, there's no record if they were or not. All the natives I know, feel like this.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#33

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of In Crete most if not all people have at least one kind of gun in their house (anything from a hunting rifle to the latest fully automatic rifle) and some time ago (maybe even now I have no idea) the rest are Vendettas where families (by families I mean a group of people that have the same surname) would go into all out war between each other for any kind of reason

I'm from Crete but I Grew up in Attica and my family used to be in a Vendetta when someone was operating my Great Grandfathers excavator and he rolled over and died and his family blamed my great grandpa and I don't know how that ended

skidadle_gayboi , Matthieu Oger Report

#34

Northern Marianas. After WW2, the islands was occupied and controlled by the US government. Our culture and language is dying. We’ve been whitewashed and just accepted that after the older generation dies the language and cultural practices will die with them.

Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#35

Romania.

In the early 70s, our fabulous dictator banned abortions because he wanted a baby boom. For Romanian women. Gypsy women were allowed to get abortions. Some doctors would recommend gypsy women to get abortions even if they were not necessary. Secrete police/party members would actually be in for some gynecological exams and make recommendations.

strange_socks Report

Add photo comments
POST
Sam
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The US didn't even bother to ask when if sterilized Native women up through the 1970s

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#36

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of Finland had concentration camps after the Finnish civil war, holding some 80000 "reds"

kharnynb , Jaakko Kemppainen Report

Add photo comments
POST
namesake
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And 12,000+ of them died in captivity or shortly after. Starvation, diseases etc. This was in 1918.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#37

Australia. Our attitude to asylum seekers who arrive by boat is really heartless. Automatically they are sent to immigration detention for indefinite periods of time and treated like criminals. It is a cruel, inhuman system and the immigration system has very poor accountability.

Report

Add photo comments
POST
Wayne Lee
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You need to be aware of the unreported people that it affects. Example 1: A good friend of mine from Indonesia applied for residential status in 1996. He was already legally in Australia and wanted to settle here. He was granted his visa which allowed him to apply for his wife to join him. During this process his wife found that she was pregnant. ( I really hope that I don't have to explain how his wife fell pregnant & birthed their child). Her visa was granted but guess what? The date that she was meant to fly to Australia to begin their new life here kept getting delayed, time after time. This continued for 5 years. This meant that my friend did not see his daughter until she was 4 years old. Do you know why his wife's visa kept getting delayed? Because of "queue jumpers"-read "illegal immigrants". So the people who do the right thing, go through the proper channels, are persecuted via delay after delay to cater for queue jumpers. This is why the crackdown on illegal immigrants began

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#38

Belgium. Colonised the Congo and exterminated about 11 million Africans. King Leopold II took the Congo as his personal estate. Villagers were herded into barns and a grenade thrown in. Children who didn't produce enough rubber had their hands amputated by soldiers. Belgium has MUCH to answer for. TAKE DOWN LEOPOLD'S STATUES AND PAY REPARATIONS !!!

Report

Add photo comments
POST
Agnes Jekyll
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I only recently learned about the horrors perpetrated by Belgium. The documentary "Exterminate All the Brutes"--explains how colonialism and genocide work....we've got to stop this.

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#39

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of South Africa had a inter-tribal genocide between 1815 and 1840 resulting in the death of between 1 - 2 million people.

The genocide, called the Mfecane, or the crushing in Zulu, was perpitrated by Shaka Zulu, and the Zulus, as he was establishing his kingdom. This lead to the depopulation of the interior which created room for the white boer settlers (voortrekkers) to move in and settle the area from 1836, basically uncontested in unclaimed territories.

mr_skrywer , Hu Chen Report

Add photo comments
POST
XenoMurph
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hmm, not sure that "unclaimed territory" is that accurate. Boers were moving in from the 18th century, long before that massacre. Let's not pretend that Dutch or British East India company were peaceful settlements. Empire building is a lethal business.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#40

Denmark. How horribly we treated Germans after WW2. This is a subject we aren't being taught about in school since we trying to let it slide past as something that happened but doesn't happen anymore (which is true though).

havedal Report

Add photo comments
POST
Wasd0000
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Japan doesn't trade with countries that say the things they did in WW2

View more commentsArrow down menu
#41

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of Well, interwar Poland had a prison, or concentration camp, for political opponets, 3,000 imprisoned, 7-15 died

Galaxy661_pl , Emiliano Bar Report

Add photo comments
POST
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#42

30 Dark Facts About These Countries That Not Many People Know Of Spain. How we left behind West Sahara and Equatorial Guinea people in the 70s, who spoke Spanish and held Spanish IDs at the time. I’m not very familiar with the root causes and would like to read more about it though. Political turmoil caused by the imminent Franco’s death played a major role though.

It became a tradition among some people here to bring in West Sahara children over for summer holidays every year.

edrt_ , Patrick Hendry Report

Add photo comments
POST
ZAPanda
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Interesting fact: there are some cities still held by spain in north africa: Spanish North Africa, five small areas, in special relationship with the Spanish government, on and off the Mediterranean coast of Morocco. They are Alhucemas, Ceuta, the Chafarinas Islands, Melilla (qq. v.), and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, with a combined area of about 12 square miles (31 square km).

#43

During wwII Sweden helped the Nazis by letting German soldiers and weapons be transported by train back and forth through Sweden to then occupied Norway.

ThisLittleLemon Report

Add photo comments
POST
Guy MacGregor
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Though you are factually right, I must remind you that Sweden is a neutral country, like Swiss. Neutrality doesn't means "no implication"; it means "equal treatment of belligerents". Neutral countries are allowed to commerce with anyone, let a foreign nation cross etc. Please do not forget that Sweden took Jew refugees, military and financially helped Finland. That kind of hate mostly come from Norwegians who didn't get much help from Sweden, but from the UK.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#44

Bulgaria. The mass exodus of Turks. In an attempt for our government to "unite" the nation in 1984 they forced all Bulgarian Turks (total about 10% of Bulgarian population) to change their names to Bulgarian-sounding one, they forbid traditional clothing and public muslim rituals. Imagine your government forcing you to change your own name you've had all your life. Of course, as a direct result many Bulgarian Turks left en masse - about 300 000 (out of 800 000) left for Turkey. Maybe half of them returned later but those are impossible to estimate correctly. It was a human rights and a demographic catastrophe.

proBICEPS Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#45

Britain "ended the slave trade" by paying off all the slave owners - the amount of money that cost was only fully paid off in the last couple of decades.

SubjectsNotObjects Report

Add photo comments
POST
Roxy Eastland
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And that money in all likelihood funded the industrial revolution. Our infrastructure and privilege is in no doubt built on the back of slaves. That said, agreeing to pay out to slave owners undoubtedly sped up the abolition of slavery. It was a decision based on practicalities. It's worth noting that by that point there were very ordinary people in Britain who invested a tiny bit of money they had in a part share of a slave, so some of these recipients of the pay out were just bog standard lower middle class citizens.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#46

Some families are so poor in central Portugal that the husband often takes his wife out and leaves her on the road so she can prostitute herself for the day and then picks her up in the evening. Hp+e fully by that stage they have enough for them to buy something to eat

Bobsledtohell Report

Add photo comments
POST
Marcelo Anjos
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Portuguese here, that is not true, it may happen, but not definitly a thing

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#47

In 1994 on the only fair elections the Belarusians really chose Lukashenka.

theBusel Report

Add photo comments
POST
Kivebo
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Perhaps they would choose differently if they knew the term duration would be 25+ years.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#48

Well talking about slavery, Denmark was the 7th largest slavery(supporting??) country. I believe it was mainly export, but still we contributed enough to land ourselves a spot, as nr 7. But we don't really have dark secrets, as a country. Just like Germany with WW2, we make sure to educate the young people, about all the good and all the bad we've done(Im part of that youth). But like either the slavery part, or being at fault for making the majority of Greenland's older generation alcoholics. It's a couple of years ago, but if anyone from Greenland could tell me how they are coming along with their alcoholism, that would be great

Rugberg Report

Add photo comments
POST
Sam
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Most of the powerful Scottish families made money on the slave trade too

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#49

There is general compulsion for military service for all adult males defined in Constitution of Finland. Military service period is 165 to 347 days depending on rank and duties but it can be replaced with civilian service which is always 12 months. If you refuse to perform either military or civilian service you will face a penalty in prison although nowadays it's usually replaced with house arrest. Amnesty classifies "total objectors" as prisoners of conscience.

teekal Report

#50

South Africa. I am not a Boer (Dutch descendant). And the Boers stole our indigenous land (Along with the British) by means of colonial violence and brainwashing with the Missionaries and their "christianity". That is well-known. However, what is less-well known, is that the British instituted concentration camps against the Boers in the 1800s. It wasn't Hitler that started that. It was the British.

Report

Add photo comments
POST
APL
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nope. Invented by the Spanish in 1896 to house Cubans. Second Boer War didn't start till 1899.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#51

Most of the peopl in the romanian parliment are stupid,or corrupt.usually both

Asasimi-reeter Report

ADVERTISEMENT