4 Mar 2026
Since March 1, 2026, LMU has been conducting a two-year, independent study into allegations of abuse at the Nicolhaus children’s home from the 1950s to the 1980s.
Since March 1, 2026, LMU Munich has been conducting a contemporary historical case study examining incidents of sexualized violence and other forms of violence at the Nicolhaus children’s home in Willmars, Rhön. The academic study, led by church historian Professor Christopher Spehr, is being carried out by historian Dr. Angelika Censebrunn-Benz and is scheduled to last two years. An interdisciplinary Scientific Advisory Board is supporting the research project. The independent study is funded by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, the Diakonieverein Willmars e.V., the Diakonisches Werk Bayern e.V., and the Diakoniegemeinschaft Stephansstift e.V.
“In 2012, former residents of the children’s home spoke out publicly for the first time about the physical, psychological, and sexual abuse they had suffered between the 1950s and 1980s at the Protestant Nicolhaus Children’s Home in Willmars,” said Professor Spehr. “Other affected individuals came forward and spoke of a climate of hostility toward children, violence, cruelty, and fear that had prevailed in the home.”
The incidents of violence at the children’s home, as well as the underlying structures and historical contexts, are now to be critically, thoroughly, and independently investigated and addressed. “In addition to interviews with survivors, whose accounts will play a central role, the analysis of archival materials and other sources will reveal the circumstances and structures that enabled the abuse,” explains Dr. Censebrunn-Benz, who brings extensive experience in research on children in care and in conducting life history interviews to the project.
A research report will be made available to the public at the end of the two-year project period.