A quote from LifeSite, 23 April 2007

German homeschooler Melissa Busekros finally returned home early this morning on her 16th birthday after having been forcibly separated from her family by the government 3 months ago. Back in February, Melissa was seized from her family home in a dramatic police raid for the crime of home schooling – illegal since 1937 by edict of Nazi Chancellor Adolf Hitler – and placed with a foster home in a location unknown to her family.

The International Human Rights Group (IHRG), which has doggedly championed the rights of Busekros and other German home schooling families, reports Melissa penned a note to her foster family and left in the dead of night, arriving on her doorstep in Erlangen at 3AM to the astonishment of her family.

According to IHRG, German law gives Melissa Busekros far more rights after turning 16, meaning she now has far more clout in determining her custody in German law. So, as soon as she turned 16, Melissa – the same girl whom a state official of the Jugendamt (Youth Welfare Office) described as happy with state custody – headed out the door for her family.

There is a danger the Jugendamt may order police forces to seize Melissa again. However, confident of her new legal rights, Melissa is prepared to refuse to leave home on the advice of her attorney, Dr. Hildebrandt.

More on this topic:

Hitler’s Ghost Haunts German Parents, 1 August 2005

Germany Imprisons Mum. Dad and Kids Flee to Austria, 12 September 2006

Homeschool Persecution in Germany, 25 September 2006

European Human Rights Court Upholds Nazi Ban on Homeschooling, 28 September 2006

School Phobia, 28 February 2007

Mental Disorder, 28 February 2007