Episode 02 - Searching for Origins: Adoption, Identity and Recognition

In this second episode of Transit: Stories of Movement and Meaning, we turn to a largely overlooked chapter of European migration history: the international adoption of thousands of Greek children during the Cold War.Between the late 1940s and the 1970s, more than 4,000 Greek children were adopted abroad, primarily to the United States, often through opaque legal processes and with little regard for preserving their original identities. For many adoptees, this meant growing up disconnected from their birthplace, their language, and the circumstances that led to their displacement.In conversation with classical scholar and historian Gonda Van Steen, we explore the historical roots and long-term consequences of this transnational adoption movement. Drawing on her research into Greek adoption archives and the testimonies of adoptees themselves, Van Steen sheds light on the complex intersections of Cold War politics, social stigma, poverty, and migration that shaped these adoption practices.Together, we discuss the lifelong search for origins experienced by many adoptees, the legal and emotional barriers they face when trying to recover their birth records, and the growing movement advocating for recognition and access to identity. The conversation also reflects on what it means to return — not only to a place, but to a history that was once obscured.By foregrounding the voices and experiences of adoptees, this episode invites us to rethink adoption not only as a private family matter, but as part of broader histories of migration, displacement, and belonging.Transit is hosted by Daniel Franco Sánchez and produced by Working Group 6 of the HIDDEN Cost Action.