Historians question whether the intention of the protectionist policies that allowed the removal of Aboriginal children was to kill all Aborigines (Read 1981) as a group of people, considered little useful by the “white settlers” or whether it was actually done for the protection and well-being of children (Windschuttle, Why There Were No Stolen Generations 2010). Regardless of the intent of the systematic removal of children from the late 1800s until 1972, the entire Indigenous community was weakened. Marjorie Woodrow, who was taken from her family more than 60 years ago, says, “They didn't know they were tearing our souls apart. » (Woodrow 2001). As Australians read the accounts of the "stolen generations", we begin to get a sense of the impact of the forced removal of Aboriginal children on Aboriginal families and communities today. Peter Read brought the past history of Aboriginal children, who were taken from their families, to the attention of many people in 1980 in an essay "The Stolen Generations". Until the publication of Read's essay, Aboriginal people rarely mentioned the "Stolen Generations" and the events were mostly unknown to white Australians. (Read 1981, 2). As Aboriginal people began to tell their stories of separation, it was noted that significant problems existed for those affected by removals, leading to a national inquiry by the Human Rights and Protection Commission. Equal Opportunity, 1997. (Commission, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity 1997). Australians were stunned by the stories emerging from the report, hearing a story from Australia's past that they barely recognized, and shocked by the "cold" response from the government of the day. (Bond 200... middle of document... especially in the 1930s, as the Depression was a difficult time for everyone, let alone the natives who were confined to missions and unable to find work or return to their old ways. support their families (Flood 2006, 227 However, the policies of the time were racist and, according to Van Krieken (1999, 306), were "more deeply rooted in European social, political and legal thought." "as equals while they continued to live in a way that was alien to the colonists was a repugnance even in the 1950s. Paul Hasluck, speaking to the House of Representatives in 1955, said: "As long as the natives do not live apart, that makes them acceptable – to put it bluntly, as long as the natives live in a way that makes them feel – then there is no hope for them. We must improve their hygiene to. make them acceptable. » 999, 306).