During the Weimar and National Socialist eras, the belief that children were best off in families enjoyed almost unanimous support. Despite this, national demographics made it readily apparent that not all German children could be raised in traditional families. The vast number of orphans and fatherless and indigent children, together with the low birthrate and high infant mortality rate, propelled German officials to reconceptualize their role in helping families and children. It was in dealing with children whose families had broken down that the Weimar and National Socialist regimes faced their most urgent family-oriented responsibility: defining the institution of the family in such a way as to enable the creation of non–biologically based groups that functioned as families.