Of course, cynicism is terrifying, resentful and even frightening. But there are especially cruel and insane manifestations of it, when many people, including famous and influential people, become participants in events.
Such was the story of Georgia Tann, the famous American kidnapper. She founded her own adoption agency, selling stolen children. Some of them fell into slavery, including pedophiles and rapists. Others were more fortunate - Hollywood stars and politicians became their new parents (for example, the famous actress Joan Crawford adopted two girls from her); but all the same - even for them, the abduction and transfer to new parents was a huge mental ordeal. In 1936, one of "her" children was adopted by the governor of New York; he later made amendments to the local adoption law, making it easier and easier to process, which was very beneficial for Georgia.
Joan Crawford adopted two girls from Georgia Tann.
This business has brought the woman tens of millions of dollars. Ultimately, her criminal organization was exposed, and she herself was arrested. Georgia was to face severe punishment, but she died before the trial - from a cancerous tumor. Nature itself punished the culprit.
Skillful business lady
Georgia's lucrative business was pretty simple. She often kidnapped children right on the street, at that moment they could just go from home to school or back. Georgia had many assistants; among them were corrupt politicians, judges, policemen, detectives. It was these influencers who ensured that the forged documents were processed quickly and flawlessly.
Promotional video:
During the period of the criminal's activity in Memphis, where the events took place, there was an incredibly high level of infant mortality.
Some stories of "adopted"
A young woman named Alma had a ten month old daughter. Alma was a single mother. When her daughter fell ill, she could not take her to the hospital. It seemed that the girl had a high chance of dying, but one evening someone knocked on the door. It was an unfamiliar old woman, a pleasant-looking woman. She immediately offered her help and said that she was the director of the shelter. She offered Alma to send the girl to this orphanage for a few days, because the children there receive free medical care. It seemed like a real angel had visited Alma. She gave her daughter to the woman without further ado …
And two days later, the happy mother again fell into despair, as she was told that the girl had died. We could not find any more information about her. In fact, Alma's daughter was still alive, but soon she was already living in a completely different family. As you might guess, the woman who introduced herself as the director of the orphanage was Georgia Tann. Alma found out about the real fate of her daughter only 45 years later.
***
Another mother harmed by Georgia's actions was Rose Harvey. Shortly before that, she divorced her husband, but continued to conflict with him. She also raised her two-year-old son alone. Rose, among other things, suffered from diabetes. Georgia took advantage of the unhappy woman's condition. She obtained permission from Rose's ex-husband to revoke her parental rights. Then she kidnapped the child - she just carried him off the playground in front of her house, where he played. She sold him to a new family, but she herself received no punishment.
***
The real "Klondike" for the criminal was the Western State Psychiatric Clinic. Women in this hospital were voluntarily or forcibly forced to make love to guards and local residents; from this they had children, whom Georgia took for resale.
The robber also had a chance to work in an orphanage. There she acquired the necessary connections. And later she even managed to open her own shelter - naturally, not without the help of local authorities.
Georgia was not married; and she was also a lesbian and had a mistress named Anne. She helped the criminal, tracking down families with small children, whom she abducted at the right time.
Tann did not disdain even babies, whom she abducted directly from maternity hospitals. In this she was assisted by corrupt nurses. Heartbroken mothers who were told by doctors about the deaths of their babies were not even aware of their true fate. Georgia sold newborns to foster families.
Babies were abducted from the hospital.
It is noteworthy that the criminal was interested only in children of the white race, especially fair-haired, blue-eyed and having an "angelic" appearance. She did not like negroes, considering them "slow-moving goods", so the dark-skinned kids were lucky. At the time, racial segregation was common in America, where the fight for black rights was just beginning. Even now, despite the propaganda of equality and tolerance, black and white Americans have a difficult relationship with each other.
Georgia Tann founded the orphanage.
As already mentioned, Georgia founded her own orphanage. Only the children were not sweet there. They were treated extremely cruelly - tortured, raped and even killed; Georgia took a personal part in all these horrors.
And with all this, Georgia was a very respected woman in the United States. She was highly acclaimed in the media and consulted by Eleanor Roosevelt; Georgia even attended the inauguration of the country's new president, Harry Truman. Many did not even know about the true background of her "social" activities, and those who did, remained silent.
A seemingly pleasant woman is actually Georgia Tann, nicknamed the "Angel of Death".
The thriving business of the criminal was cloudless until the end of the forties. Then the authorities finally drew attention to the fact that the infant mortality rate in the region was somehow unnatural. A large-scale audit of hospitals, shelters and other organizations related to children was initiated. And in 1950, the cause of the mysterious "deaths" was found: Georgia was exposed and put under arrest. The public was incredibly shocked by the revealed circumstances of the case. The trial promised to be scandalous and prepared new surprises, but a few days before it, the criminal died of cancer. The case was dropped, and dozens and maybe hundreds of accomplices of the "Angel of Death", as Georgia was nicknamed - doctors, nurses, lawyers, politicians, remained at large.