The German pharmaceutical company Grünenthal from Stolberg brought the drug Contergan onto the market in 1957. A prescription-free, over-the-counter sleep aid that’s advertised worldwide as harmless and “completely non-toxic.” Since it is also said to be effective against morning sickness, thousands of pregnant women also take it. With fatal consequences: Because the active ingredient thalidomide contained in thalidomide leads to nerve damage – and serious embryonic disorders. In Germany alone, around 5,000 babies are born with malformed organs and limbs. About 40 percent of children die very quickly after birth or while they are still babies.
Charges against Grünenthal were not brought until 1968. The trial ended in 1970 with a heavily criticized settlement. However, thalidomide remained in many medicine cabinets and was taken unknowingly. “Many of those affected have disorders, malformations that you don’t see at all and where even doctors don’t necessarily know that this is a thalidomide malformation,” says Christina Berndt from the SZ knowledge department. They have caused disabilities such as kidney damage, hearing problems or infertility that are not so obvious. For a long time, many of those affected did not realize that they too could be a “Contergan child” – and have been fighting for years for recognition and financial support. Together with NDR and WDR, Berndt has researched that the responsible foundation has rejected almost all applications – and now there is hope after all.
You can find the SZ report on the struggle of the Contergan victims here.
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