The twentieth century witnessed mass crimes during which the kidnapping of children was a State policy associated to the control of procreation to promote the growth of particular group against another, building the identity of the populations under their domination.

In the present paper we analyze the Armenian genocide (1915-1922) and the Argentina's military dictatorship (1976-1983) in a particular aspect: the treatment of children as target of forced assimilation or destruction, in comparative perspective. In the Argentine case, some children were adopted by appropriators that changed their identities. In the Armenian case, forced conversion to Islam and subsequent absorption of Armenian women and children from Muslim families had a direct consequence on the disappearance of the Armenian identity in Turkey. The systematic removal of children is a key element of genocide, considering them as a negative element for future procreation; but also kidnapping or child abduction and changing of identity, can be complementary policies (Frigolé, 2003). From this idea of negative identity of children in a dangerous group, we will analyze both cases, taking into account either abduction or stealing of children and changing of identity, and the ideological support that enabled this policy. The sources are diverse: publication of the ideologues of the Armenian genocide, sentences of the trials to the military dictatorships in Argentina, published diplomatic documents, testimonies, and extensive secondary documents.


Frigolé, J. (2003), Culture and genocide, Publicacions of the University of Barcelona, Barcelona.

Lemkin, R. (2009), El dominio del eje en la Europa ocupada, Buenos Aires, Prometeo.