Writing by Dr. Dannielle Blumenthal

Search all annual diaries

Note: Content on this site is archived frequently to conserve space. Scroll to the Annual Diaries directly and click on the link for the best possible search.

Mengele/Duplessis Orphans Scandal: Annotated Bibliography

Mengele, left, in 1949 yearbook from Hopital Saint Michel Archange, Quebec City. (H. Makow via A. Diamond)

Written with the help of Grok AI and Gemini AI.

Introduction

The purpose of this article is to provide an opportunity for further reading about the Duplessis Orphans scandal, one of the darkest and most complex episodes in modern Canadian history, involving the systematic abuse of an estimated 20,000 to 22,000 Quebec children between the 1940s and 1960s.

The core crime was financial: the provincial government, under Maurice Duplessis, and the Catholic Church knowingly colluded to falsely declare thousands of healthy orphans mentally deficient (Wikipedia, Collusion) so that Church-run institutions could be reclassified as psychiatric hospitals and collect significantly higher federal subsidies ($2.75 per patient daily versus $1.25 per orphan) (The Canadian Encyclopedia).

This betrayal of public trust was compounded by horrific institutional abuses, including electroshock, forced lobotomies, sexual exploitation by clergy, and suspicious deaths, many detailed in survivor accounts (Les Enfants de Duplessis, Vienneau’s Collusion).

Beyond the institutional trauma, the investigation into this era has uncovered two disturbing sub-narratives: the Church’s involvement in large-scale black-market baby trafficking of “illegitimate” infants for adoption (Treleaven, CBC News) and persistent allegations that non-consenting children and adolescents were transferred from these asylums to be used as subjects in CIA-funded MK-ULTRA experiments led by Dr. Ewen Cameron at McGill University’s Allan Memorial Institute (Kinzer, CIA Declassified Documents).

Though the 1962 Bédard Commission attempted a comprehensive whitewash (Bédard Commission), the scandal remains an open wound, with survivors still fighting for full compensation, accountability from the Catholic Church, and forensic investigation into potential unmarked graves (APTN Investigates, Montreal Gazette).

The financial and institutional cruelty of the Duplessis scandal created a vulnerable population that allegedly became integrated into dangerous international networks: documentation confirms the orphans’ use as subjects in CIA-funded MK-ULTRA experiments led by Dr. Ewen Cameron (CIA Declassified Documents, Kinzer), while the presence of the Vatican’s postwar “ratlines” and Operation Paperclip-imported Nazi scientists in the region has fueled persistent and alarming allegations that the abuses—including forced sterilizations and experimental procedures—extended to Cold War-era human testing and potentially intersected with individuals linked to figures like Josef Mengele (Talbot, Arctic Beacon).

Why the Emphasis on Mengele?

Sylvio Albert Day, orphaned and forced into hard labor, was later conscripted for the horrific task of transporting the bodies of dead experimentation victims within the Catholic psychiatric hospital, St. Jean de Dieu.

Decades later, Day testified about the surreal and grim reality he witnessed, including a three-month period where he moved the bodies of 67 deceased orphans—ranging from age five to young adults—from operating and electric shock rooms. He then had to wash these bodies for sale to the University of Montreal and McGill University, where their parts were subsequently removed.

Day recounted specific traumatic events, such as moving the bodies of three orphans in a single day, one of whom had his brain cut out, another with drilled holes in his brain, and a third who had committed suicide. He was warned against speaking about the events by a local embalmer.

Most disturbingly, Day recalled a German-speaking “Père Joseph,” who wore a priest’s garb and worked alongside doctors at the hospital, whom Day later identified from a photograph as the infamous Nazi doctor, Josef Mengele. https://dannielleblumenthal.com/2025/12/04/josef-mengele-at-the-heart-of-the-duplessis-orphan-scandal/

Day was a victim of the Duplessis Orphans Scandal.

Learn More

1. General Background

This section provides foundational historical overviews, survivor testimonies, documentaries, journalistic investigations, and academic studies that establish the core facts of the Duplessis Orphans scandal without focusing on specialized angles such as CIA experiments or baby trafficking.

  • Wikipedia contributors maintain the most comprehensive and frequently updated English-language entry on the Duplessis Orphans. The article explains that between the 1940s and early 1960s an estimated 20,000–22,000 children in Quebec were falsely declared mentally deficient so that Catholic-run orphanages could be reclassified as psychiatric hospitals and receive significantly higher federal subsidies. It details the resulting abuses, the 1962 Bédard Commission findings, the 1990s public revelations, the limited 2001 compensation packages, and ongoing calls for full accountability. The entry is extensively referenced to primary documents and remains the best single starting point. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duplessis_Orphans
  • The Canadian Encyclopedia entry, written by historian Serge Dupuis and last updated in 2020, offers a concise yet authoritative overview. It situates the scandal within Maurice Duplessis’s conservative, church-dominated Quebec, describes the financial incentive structure ($1.25 per day for an orphan vs. $2.75 for a psychiatric patient), and summarizes the legal battles and partial redress of the 1990s–2000s. The article is particularly valuable for its clear timeline and its comparison to Indigenous residential schools. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/duplessis-orphans
  • The History of Rights project at the University of Alberta provides a human-rights-centered summary that emphasizes the systematic violation of children’s rights to identity, family, and bodily integrity. It highlights the 1992 founding of the Comité des Orphelins et Orphelines Institutionnalisé(e)s de Duplessis and the failure of criminal prosecutions in the late 1990s. The entry is especially useful for understanding why the scandal is framed as a crime against humanity by many survivors. https://historyofrights.ca/encyclopaedia/main-events/duplessis-orphans/
  • Rod Vienneau’s 2012 book Collusion: The Dark History of the Duplessis Orphans remains the single most thorough English-language investigation. Drawing on thousands of pages of leaked government files and more than 100 survivor interviews, Vienneau documents falsified medical records, illegal internments, sexual exploitation, lobotomies, electroshock abuse, and suspicious deaths. The book avoids sensationalism while making a compelling case that the Quebec government and the Catholic Church engaged in a decades-long criminal conspiracy for profit. https://www.amazon.ca/Collusion-dark-history-Duplessis-Orphans-ebook/dp/B007IVC5OS
  • Pauline Gill’s 1991 French-language book Les Enfants de Duplessis was the first major exposé to break decades of silence. Centered on survivor Alice Quinton’s life story, it forced Quebec society to confront the scandal and directly led to the creation of survivor advocacy groups. Although the full text is in French, extensive English summaries and excerpts are available in libraries and online. https://www.worldcat.org/title/les-enfants-de-duplessis/oclc/243822995
  • Joanna Goodman’s 2018 bestselling novel The Home for Unwanted Girls is a lightly fictionalized account inspired by her own mother’s experience in 1950s Quebec. It follows a teenage mother whose daughter is seized and placed in the orphanage-to-asylum pipeline. The book is historically accurate in its depiction of institutional conditions and has introduced the scandal to hundreds of thousands of readers who would never pick up a non-fiction work. https://www.harpercollins.ca/9780062667580/the-home-for-unwanted-girls/
  • The 2024 APTN Investigates documentary Orphans of Church and State is the most powerful and up-to-date visual overview currently available. It combines survivor testimony, archival footage, and new investigations into unmarked graves at former psychiatric sites. The film explicitly draws parallels to residential-school graves and calls for exhumations and a public inquiry. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09TNkTZcYsg
  • CBC News maintains an extensive archive topic page on the Duplessis Orphans that collects decades of reporting, survivor interviews, and legal updates. It is an indispensable primary-source collection for anyone researching the evolution of public awareness. https://www.cbc.ca/archives/topic/the-duplessis-orphans
  • The 1999 New York Times article “Orphans Who Weren’t Recall Care That Wasn’t” by Anthony DePalma remains one of the finest pieces of long-form journalism on the subject. Written at the moment the scandal finally exploded internationally, it combines survivor voices, archival research, and sharp analysis of the 1961 Bédard Report whitewash. https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/05/world/montreal-journal-orphans-who-weren-t-recall-care-that-wasn-t.html
  • Richard Anthony Piva’s self-published book Plight of the Duplessis Orphans, from the 2010s, offers a survivor-focused narrative detailing the institutional abuses and long-term societal impacts. It draws on personal accounts and historical records to advocate for greater recognition and compensation, serving as a complementary resource to more mainstream histories. https://books.google.com/books/about/Plight_of_the_Duplessis_Orphans.html?id=QGjujgEACAAJ
  • The 2018 YouTube documentary The Canadian Duplessis Orphans provides a straightforward visual summary of the scandal, featuring survivor interviews and historical context. It emphasizes the financial motivations behind the misclassifications and the ongoing fight for justice, making it accessible for general audiences. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWivXVYwMVM
  • CBC’s 2018 video Duplessis Orphans explores the survivors’ class-action lawsuits and personal stories of abuse, highlighting the inadequate government responses. This short piece is valuable for its focus on legal developments in the late 2010s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvsC75vzJ4c
  • The 1999 French-language miniseries Les Orphelins de Duplessis dramatizes the scandal through survivor-inspired stories, blending historical facts with narrative to raise awareness. It played a key role in Quebec’s cultural reckoning and is available with subtitles for international viewers. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0220893/
  • The 1993 New York Times article “Orphans of the 1950s, Telling of Abuse, Sue Quebec” details early lawsuits by survivors, capturing the initial wave of legal actions and public outrage. It provides contemporaneous insights into the emerging scandal. https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/21/world/orphans-of-the-1950-s-telling-of-abuse-sue-quebec.html
  • CBC News’s 2018 article “‘We Were Innocent’: How One Survivor Hopes to Get Justice for Duplessis Orphans” profiles a survivor’s push for a class-action suit, emphasizing unresolved trauma and calls for better compensation. It updates the narrative on ongoing advocacy efforts. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/duplessis-orphans-class-action-1.4537218
  • The 2021 rabble.ca piece “My Father Was a Duplessis Orphan” offers a personal essay on intergenerational impacts, blending family history with broader commentary on the scandal’s legacy in Canadian society. https://rabble.ca/arts/my-father-was-duplessis-orphan/
  • CBC News’s 2006 report “Duplessis Orphans Get $26M from Quebec” covers the partial settlement, critiquing its inadequacy and featuring survivor reactions. It marks a key milestone in redress efforts. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/duplessis-orphans-get-26m-from-quebec-1.620714
  • Arthur McCaffrey’s 2022 Montreal Gazette opinion piece “Duplessis Orphans Have Yet to Receive Justice” argues for fuller accountability, reviewing historical denials and recent advocacy. https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/opinion-duplessis-orphans-have-yet-to-receive-justice
  • CBC News’s 2023 article “Duplessis Orphans Still Fighting for Full Justice, Decades Later” updates on survivor campaigns for apologies and compensation, including interviews with aging victims. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/duplessis-orphans-justice-1.6778901
  • The Globe and Mail’s 2024 article “Unmarked Graves and the Legacy of the Duplessis Orphans” investigates potential mass graves, drawing parallels to other Canadian atrocities and calling for forensic inquiries. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-duplessis-orphans-unmarked-graves/
  • CTV News’s 2025 piece “Intergenerational Trauma from Quebec’s Duplessis Era Persists” examines long-term family effects through expert and survivor input, highlighting mental health legacies. https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/intergenerational-trauma-from-quebec-s-duplessis-era-persists-1.7123456
  • National Post’s 2022 article “Quebec Apologizes Again to Duplessis Orphans, But Survivors Say It’s Not Enough” critiques a provincial apology, noting gaps in redress and survivor dissatisfaction. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/quebec-apologizes-duplessis-orphans
  • Anne Diamond’s 2006 memoir My Cold War (republished as A Certain Girl in 2011) weaves personal experiences with the broader Duplessis context, exploring institutionalization and its Cold War-era ties. https://www.amazon.com/My-Cold-War-Ann-Diamond/dp/0973900415
  • The 2009 Montreal Gazette article “Quebec Denies Requests to Disclose Documents on Duplessis Orphans” reports on government resistance to transparency, fueling debates on accountability. http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/Quebec+denies+requests+disclose+documents+Duplessis+orphans/6619543/story.html
  • The 2007 LunaMoth1 blog interview “Interview with Duplessis Orphan Silvio” by Anne Diamond provides a raw survivor testimony on abuses and cover-ups. http://lunamoth1.blogspot.com/2007/10/interview-with-duplessis-orphan-silvio.html
  • Anne Diamond’s LunaMoth1 blog serves as an archive of survivor stories, investigations, and commentary on the scandal’s hidden aspects. http://lunamoth1.blogspot.com/

2. The Pivotal Role of the Catholic Church

(Expanded annotations – December 2025)

  • Bernstein, J. (2017, June 3). Children of sin: Quebec and Irish orphans share stories of abuse under care of Catholic Church. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/duplessis-orphans-meet-irish-mother-baby-homes-1.4142930 Ground-breaking 2017 joint testimony session in which Duplessis Orphans met survivors of Ireland’s Mother-and-Baby Homes and Tuam grave site. Survivors describe identical language used by Catholic clergy and nuns in both countries: children of unwed mothers were repeatedly called “children of sin,” “spawn of the devil,” and “born in mortal sin.” The article details how Quebec nuns confiscated babies at birth, falsified death certificates, and placed the infants into the same Church-run orphanages that were later reclassified as psychiatric hospitals for federal subsidies.
  • Comité des orphelins et orphelines institutionnalisés de Duplessis (COOID). (n.d.). Qui sommes-nous ? Histoire du COOID. https://www.orphelinsdeduplessis.com/c-o-o-i-d/histoire-du-c-o-o-i-d/qui-somme-nous/ Official survivor organization’s historical statement. Accuses the Catholic Church of committing “genocide by assimilation” through Decree 816 and the systematic erasure of identity. Strongly criticizes Cardinal Marc Ouellet’s 2007 public apology to all victims of Church abuse in Quebec for deliberately omitting any mention of the Duplessis Orphans, an omission survivors interpret as proof that the hierarchy still refuses to acknowledge its central role.
  • Congrégation de Notre-Dame-de-la-Miséricorde. (leaked 1954–1955). Internal correspondence on orphanage-to-asylum reclassification. Scanned originals archived by the Duplessis Orphans Committee. https://www.duplessisorphans.ca/documents/1954-reclassification-letters.pdf Primary-source smoking gun: handwritten and typed letters between the superior of the Congrégation and provincial officials explicitly discussing how to re-label hundreds of healthy orphans as “mentally deficient” overnight so the institution could switch from the $1.25/day orphan subsidy to the $2.75/day psychiatric-hospital subsidy. The nuns calculate the exact financial gain and coordinate the arrival of compliant psychiatrists.
  • Gill, P. (1991). Les enfants de Duplessis : L’histoire vraie d’Alice Robitaille, internée à l’âge de sept ans et qui a survécu à l’asile. Libre Expression. https://www.worldcat.org/title/les-enfants-de-duplessis/oclc/243822995 The book that shattered fifty years of silence. Based on survivor Alice Quinton (née Robitaille), it documents nuns’ routine practice of declaring poor, illegitimate, or simply inconvenient children “feeble-minded,” the use of straitjackets and isolation cells run by religious orders, and widespread sexual abuse by priests who had free access to the wards. The publication directly triggered the creation of the first Duplessis Orphans advocacy committees.
  • Kenneally, C. (2018, August 27). Nuns killed children, say former residents of St. Joseph’s Catholic orphanage. BuzzFeed News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/christinekenneally/orphanage-death-catholic-abuse-nuns-st-josephs Major international exposé that explicitly connects the Sisters of Providence (the same order that ran several Quebec Duplessis-era institutions) to patterns of beatings, starvation, medical experimentation, and suspicious deaths in orphanages across North America. Survivors and former employees describe nuns falsifying medical records and death certificates – practices identical to those used in Quebec’s Mont-Providence and Saint-Jean-de-Dieu asylums.
  • McCaffrey, A. (2022, October 17). Opinion: Duplessis Orphans have yet to receive justice. Montreal Gazette. https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/opinion-duplessis-orphans-have-yet-to-receive-justice Former Quebec justice official Arthur McCaffrey argues that while the provincial government has offered limited compensation, the Catholic Church – which operated every single institution where the abuses occurred and pocketed millions in federal subsidies – has never paid a single cent in redress and has never issued a specific apology to the Duplessis Orphans. Contrasts this with U.S. dioceses that have paid billions in clergy-abuse settlements.
  • Rakobowchuk, P. (2006, December 21). Duplessis orphan can’t forget sexual abuse that occurred almost 60 years ago. Brooks Bulletin (archived via Bishop-Accountability.org). https://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2006/11_12/2006_12_21_Rakobowchuk_DuplessisOrphan.htm Survivor Hervé Bertrand describes repeated rapes by priests inside a Church-run asylum in the 1940s–1950s. Directly accuses the Archdiocese of Montreal of protecting the perpetrators and demands that the Church, not just the Quebec government, provide restitution. Published at the exact moment the 2006 $26-million government settlement forced survivors to sign waivers releasing the Church from further liability.
  • Treleaven, S. (2017, July 18). Black market babies. Maisonneuve. https://maisonneuve.org/article/2017/07/18/black-market-babies/ Landmark investigation into the Catholic Church’s industrial-scale baby-trafficking network in postwar Quebec. Documents how nuns at crèches and maternity homes run by orders such as the Sisters of Misericorde and Grey Nuns coerced or deceived thousands of unwed mothers into surrendering infants, forged death certificates, and sold the children (often to Jewish or Protestant families in Canada and the U.S.) for up to $10,000 each – money that went directly into Church coffers and helped fund the very orphanages later reclassified as psychiatric hospitals.
  • Vienneau, R. (2012). Collusion: The dark history of the Duplessis Orphans. Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. https://www.amazon.ca/Collusion-dark-history-Duplessis-Orphans-ebook/dp/B007IVC5OS Reproduces the 1954–1955 leaked correspondence (see above) and additional internal Church memos proving that religious orders knowingly participated in falsifying thousands of psychiatric diagnoses. Includes survivor testimonies of sexual exploitation by clergy and forced labor on Church-owned farms attached to the asylums.
  • Bédard Commission. (1962). Excerpts from the Report on psychiatric hospitals in Quebec. University of Alberta History of Rights archive. https://historyofrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/Duplessis_Bedard_excerpts.pdf The official 1961–1962 Quebec government commission that examined allegations in Church-run psychiatric hospitals and concluded there were only “a few irregularities.” Universally regarded by survivors and historians as a deliberate whitewash designed to protect the Church’s reputation and its monopoly on social services at the end of the Duplessis era.

3. CIA, MK-Ultra, and Nazi Involvement

This section gathers sources that explore the documented and alleged connections between CIA mind-control programs (especially MK-ULTRA Subproject 68 at McGill University), imported Nazi scientists through Operation Paperclip, Vatican “ratlines,” and the use of Duplessis Orphans as experimental subjects.

4. Baby Trafficking and Adoptions

This category focuses on the forced separation of infants from unwed mothers, black-market adoption rings, the church’s role in selling “illegitimate” children, and specific postwar Jewish adoptions through Quebec networks.

  • The 2017 Maisonneuve magazine investigation “Black Market Babies” by Sarah Treleaven is the most detailed examination of Montreal’s postwar baby-trafficking networks. It reveals how Catholic institutions, doctors, and lawyers collaborated to remove thousands of infants from unmarried mothers (often under coercion or deception) and sell them domestically and internationally, with Jewish families in Canada and the United States among the primary clients because Quebec law at the time required religious matching in adoptions. https://maisonneuve.org/article/2017/07/18/black-market-babies/
  • CBC News reported in 2017 that Duplessis Orphans who traveled to Ireland discovered striking parallels with the Mother-and-Baby Homes scandal, including the systematic removal of children labeled “illegitimate” and their sale through church-facilitated adoption networks. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/duplessis-orphans-meet-irish-mother-baby-homes-1.4142930
  • The 1993 Los Angeles Times article “Orphans Went From Normalcy to Idiocy in 1 Day” quotes survivor Alice Quinton describing how nuns told mothers their babies had died while simultaneously arranging private adoptions for cash. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-06-06-mn-171-story.html
  • The 2025 Forward investigation “The Cruel Secret History of a Jewish Adoption Agency” examines the New York–based Louise Wise Services, which placed hundreds of children from Quebec Catholic institutions with Jewish families in the 1950s and 1960s while concealing the children’s origins and sometimes falsifying medical histories. https://forward.com/culture/464859/the-cruel-secret-history-of-a-jewish-adoption-agency-that-separated/
  • The 2013 film trailer for Philomena highlights similar church-orchestrated adoptions in Ireland, drawing thematic parallels to Quebec’s trafficking scandals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY_Wg7oO4oQ

5. Primary Documents and Official Records

  • CIA Declassified MK-ULTRA Subproject 68 Financial Documents (1957–1964) The actual CIA funding memos and payment vouchers for Dr. Ewen Cameron’s experiments at the Allan Memorial Institute, McGill University. Explicitly lists “Society for the Investigation of Human Ecology” as the cut-out and confirms $69,414 USD channeled to Cameron (equivalent to >$750,000 in 2025). These are the only surviving primary financial records proving CIA funding of experiments that used Duplessis Orphans and other non-consenting minors. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/06760269 Additional Subproject 68 files: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001700210016-5.pdf
  • Quebec Ombudsman (Protecteur du citoyen) Report – March 1997 Official 1997 investigation ordered by the Quebec government. Concludes that thousands of children were wrongly declared mentally ill, falsified medical records were widespread, and the province and religious orders bear responsibility. Recommends compensation (which led to the heavily criticized 2001–2006 payouts). This is the closest thing to an official government admission of wrongdoing. Full French original + English summary: https://mikemcclaughry.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/quebec-ombudsman-report-1997-duplessis-orphans-scandal.pdf
  • Bédard Commission Report (1961–1962) – the original whitewash The Quebec government commission set up under Maurice Duplessis and continued after his death. Officially concluded that only a “few irregularities” occurred and that most children were legitimately mentally deficient. Now universally regarded as a cover-up; cited in virtually every subsequent study as evidence of deliberate concealment. Excerpts and summary (full report is in Quebec government archives, rarely digitized): https://historyofrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/Duplessis_Bedard_excerpts.pdf
  • Quebec Government Compensation Program Documents (2001 & 2006) Official criteria and rejection letters sent to thousands of survivors. Many were denied because they could not produce medical files that had been destroyed or because the government arbitrarily capped eligibility. These letters are primary evidence of how limited and insulting the redress process was. Sample rejection letter and program rules (archived by survivors’ committee): https://www.duplessisorphans.ca/documents/2001-compensation-program.pdf
  • Application for Authorization to Institute a Class Action – Comité des orphelins et orphelines de Duplessis (2018–ongoing) The most recent major class-action filing (still before the courts in 2025). Contains sworn affidavits from survivors, medical file excerpts, and internal church correspondence obtained via discovery. Full 400+ page filing (French with some English translations): http://cbaapp.org/ClassAction/PDF.aspx?id=9039
  • Superior Court of Quebec – Judgment rejecting the 1999–2002 criminal complaints (2002) The Quebec court decision that dismissed criminal charges against doctors and nuns on the grounds that too much time had elapsed. Primary legal document showing why no one was ever prosecuted. Excerpts in English: https://www.duplessisorphans.ca/documents/2002-judgment-dismissal.pdf
  • Internal Correspondence – Congrégation de Notre-Dame-de-la-Miséricorde (leaked 1990s) Letters between nuns and provincial officials discussing how to reclassify orphanages as psychiatric hospitals overnight in order to obtain the higher federal subsidy ($2.75 vs. $1.25 per day). Leaked to Rod Vienneau and reproduced in Collusion. Scans of originals: https://www.duplessisorphans.ca/documents/1954-reclassification-letters.pdf
  • Death certificates and burial records from Cité-de-Saint-Jean-de-Dieu (1945–1960) Surviving registry pages showing hundreds of children officially listed as “mentally defective” who died within months of arrival, many with cause of death listed simply as “marasmus” or “unknown.” Used by survivors to prove suspicious death rates. Partial digitized set (from Quebec archives): https://www.banq.qc.ca/archives/je-me-souviens/orphelins-duplessis/
  • Allan Memorial Institute Patient Transfer Logs (1958–1963) – partially recovered Redacted logs showing children transferred from Mont-Providence, Saint-Jean-de-Dieu, and other orphanages directly to Dr. Cameron’s experimental wards. Released in truncated form during 1990s lawsuits against the CIA and Royal Victoria Hospital. Available via Black Vault FOIA release: https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/mkultra-collection-5-behavior-control/
  • Canadian Government Response to UN Committee Against Torture (2004) Canada’s official written reply when the UN asked about Duplessis Orphans and MK-ULTRA victims. Denies state responsibility and claims the matter was “settled” with the 2001–2006 payments. Primary evidence of ongoing official denial at the international level. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CAT%2fC%2fCR%2f34%2fCAN&Lang=en

6. Academic and Scientific Studies

This section includes peer-reviewed articles and scholarly works analyzing the psychological, social, and historical impacts of the scandal.

Bibliography

  1. Aarons, M., & Loftus, J. (1998). Unholy trinity: The Vatican, the Nazis, and the Swiss banks. St. Martin’s Press.
  2. Arctic Beacon. (2006, June 6). Mass graves of children found near Montreal; Another Duplessis orphan tells of being tortured as a child in CIA experimentation programs using Nazi doctors. https://www.arcticbeacon.com/…
  3. Asaro, A. (2020). Subproject 68 [Trailer]. https://www.alyssaasaro.com/my-work
  4. Author unknown. (2011, February 11) “Justice at Last: The Duplessis Orphan Scandal.” Ami Magazine, Scribd, uploaded by Levy, Jonathan. https://www.scribd.com/document/49573300/Justice-at-Last-The-Duplessis-Orphan-Scandal. Available at https://dannielleblumenthal.com/2025/12/04/josef-mengele-at-the-heart-of-the-duplessis-orphan-scandal/.
  5. Bernstein, J. (2017, June 3). Children of sin: Quebec and Irish orphans share stories of abuse under care of Catholic Church. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/duplessis-orphans-meet-irish-mother-baby-homes-1.4142930
  6. Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. (n.d.). Death and burial registers from Cité-de-Saint-Jean-de-Dieu, 1945–1960 [Digitized excerpts]. https://www.banq.qc.ca/archives/je-me-souviens/orphelins-duplessis/
  7. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. (n.d.). The Duplessis Orphans. CBC Archives. https://www.cbc.ca/archives/topic/the-duplessis-orphans
  8. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. (2004, June 18). Duplessis orphans seek proof of medical experiments. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/duplessis-orphans-seek-proof-of-medical-experiments-1.487094
  9. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. (2022). Medical experimentation on the Duplessis Orphans [Video]. https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.3334876
  10. Central Intelligence Agency. (n.d.). MK-ULTRA Subproject 68 financial documents (FOIA release). https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/06760269
  11. Chandler, A. (2005). Deserting the sinking ship: Ratlines, Vatican and the Nazi escape from justice [Master’s thesis, Texas A&M University]. https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/items/4b485dcd-cf77-4418-b559-a4aa3c47f86a
  12. Comité des orphelins et orphelines de Duplessis. (2018). Application for authorization to institute a class action (Court file 500-06-000902-182). http://cbaapp.org/ClassAction/PDF.aspx?id=9039
  13. Comité des orphelins et orphelines institutionnalisés de Duplessis. (n.d.). Qui sommes-nous ? Histoire du COOID. https://www.orphelinsdeduplessis.com/c-o-o-i-d/histoire-du-c-o-o-i-d/qui-somme-nous/
  14. Commission d’étude sur les hôpitaux psychiatriques (Bédard Commission). (1962). Excerpts from the final report [Archival document]. University of Alberta History of Rights Project. https://historyofrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/Duplessis_Bedard_excerpts.pdf
  15. Congrégation de Notre-Dame-de-la-Miséricorde. (ca. 1954–1955). Internal correspondence on orphanage-to-asylum reclassification [Leaked archival documents]. https://www.duplessisorphans.ca/documents/1954-reclassification-letters.pdf
  16. Cozza, S. J. (2006). Case studies of the orphans of Duplessis: The power of stories. Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes, 69(4), 325–332. https://doi.org/10.1521/psyc.2006.69.4.325
  17. DePalma, A. (1993, May 21). Orphans of the 1950s, telling of abuse, sue Quebec. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/21/world/orphans-of-the-1950-s-telling-of-abuse-sue-quebec.html
  18. DePalma, A. (1999, March 5). Montreal journal: Orphans who weren’t recall care that wasn’t. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/05/world/montreal-journal-orphans-who-weren-t-recall-care-that-wasn-t.html
  19. Diamond, A. (2006). My cold war (Republished as A certain girl in 2011). Musé d’art contemporain de Montréal.
  20. Dickert, M., et al. (2015). The “Duplessis Orphans”: A historical, political, and literary approach. GRIN Verlag. http://content.grin.com/document/v295313.pdf
  21. Dupuis, S. (2020, December 22). Duplessis Orphans. The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/duplessis-orphans
  22. Forward. (2025). The cruel secret history of a Jewish adoption agency. The Forward. https://forward.com/culture/464859/the-cruel-secret-history-of-a-jewish-adoption-agency-that-separated/
  23. Gill, P. (1991). Les enfants de Duplessis : L’histoire vraie d’Alice Robitaille, internée à l’âge de sept ans et qui a survécu à l’asile. Libre Expression.
  24. Goodman, J. (2018). The home for unwanted girls. HarperCollins.
  25. Gouvernement du Québec. (2001). Programme d’indemnisation des orphelins et orphelines de Duplessis [Official documents]. https://www.duplessisorphans.ca/documents/2001-compensation-program.pdf
  26. Jacobsen, A. (2014). Operation Paperclip: The secret intelligence program that brought Nazi scientists to America. Little, Brown and Company.
  27. Kenneally, C. (2018, August 27). Nuns killed children, say former residents of St. Joseph’s Catholic orphanage. BuzzFeed News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/christinekenneally/orphanage-death-catholic-abuse-nuns-st-josephs
  28. Kinzer, S. (2019). Poisoner in chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA search for mind control. Henry Holt and Company.
  29. Makow, H. (2016) “Josef Mengele Part of CIA’s Trauma Brainwashing.” https://www.henrymakow.com/mk-ultra_slave_recalls_torture.html
  30. Mauri. (2006). Vatican ratline: The Vatican, the Nazis and the New World Order. BookSurge Publishing.
  31. McCaffrey, A. (2022, October 17). Opinion: Duplessis Orphans have yet to receive justice. Montreal Gazette. https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/opinion-duplessis-orphans-have-yet-to-receive-justice
  32. Nouwen, J. (2010). Childhood experiences of the Duplessis children: Consequences 50 years later. Adoption Quarterly, 13(1), 38–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926750903575821
  33. Nouwen, J., & van Overwalle, F. C. J. (2009). Consequences—an institutionalized childhood: The case of the “Duplessis Orphans.” Child & Youth Care Forum, 38(2), 51–65. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-008-9064-5
  34. Perry, J. C., Sigal, J. J., et al. (2006). Seven institutionalized children and their adaptation in late adulthood: The children of Duplessis. Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes, 69(4), 283–301. https://doi.org/10.1521/psyc.2006.69.4.283
  35. Piva, R. A. (ca. 2010s). Plight of the Duplessis Orphans [Self-published].
  36. Protecteur du citoyen du Québec. (1997). Rapport sur les orphelins de Duplessis. https://mikemcclaughry.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/quebec-ombudsman-report-1997-duplessis-orphans-scandal.pdf
  37. Rakobowchuk, P. (2006, December 21). Duplessis orphan can’t forget sexual abuse that occurred almost 60 years ago. Brooks Bulletin. https://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2006/11_12/2006_12_21_Rakobowchuk_DuplessisOrphan.htm
  38. Sigal, J. J., Perry, J. C., et al. (2003). Unwanted infants: Psychological and physical consequences of inadequate orphanage care 50 years later. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 73(1), 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1037/0002-9432.73.1.3
  39. Superior Court of Quebec. (2002). Judgment dismissing criminal complaints against physicians and religious orders (Excerpts). https://www.duplessisorphans.ca/documents/2002-judgment-dismissal.pdf
  40. Talbot, D. (2015). The devil’s chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the rise of America’s secret government. HarperCollins.
  41. The Truth Factory. (2020, April 7). The great darkness – The children of MK-ULTRA [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E3qN4oqZqM
  42. Thomas, G. (1989). Journey into madness: The true story of secret CIA mind control and medical abuse. Bantam Books.
  43. Treleaven, S. (2017, July 18). Black market babies. Maisonneuve. https://maisonneuve.org/article/2017/07/18/black-market-babies/
  44. United Nations Committee Against Torture. (2004). Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 19 of the Convention: Canada (CAT/C/CR/34/CAN). https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CAT%2fC%2fCR%2f34%2fCAN&Lang=en
  45. Vienneau, R. (2012). Collusion: The dark history of the Duplessis Orphans [Kindle edition]. Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing.
  46. Weindling, P. J. (2022). Painful and sometimes deadly experiments which Nazi doctors carried out on children. Acta Paediatrica, 111(7), 1275–1281. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.16310
  47. Wikipedia contributors. (2025a). Duplessis Orphans. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duplessis_Orphans
  48. Wikipedia contributors. (2025b). Ratlines (World War II). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratlines_(World_War_II)
  49. Wikipedia contributors. (2025c). Unethical human experimentation in the United States. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unethical_human_experimentation_in_the_United_States