DOCSLIB.ORG

Euthanasia” Programs

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Euthanasia” Programs 1 IV. THE “MEDICALIZATION OF MURDER”: THE “EUTHANASIA” PROGRAMS Part 1: The Children’s “Euthanasia” ProGram Professor Susan Benedict UT Health Science Center Houston, Texas, USA 77030 [email protected] 001-713-500-2039 Purpose of the Module: The PurPose of this module is to describe how the “euthanasia” ProGram in Germany beGan with the murder of children with disabilities. Suggested Reading: 1. BurleiGh, M. (1994). Death and Deliverance. CambridGe, UK: CambridGe University Press, P. 93-129. 2. Friedlander, H. (1995). The OriGins of Nazi Genocide. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, P. 39-61. 3. Gallagher, H. (1990). By Trust Betrayed. ArlinGton, VA: Vandamere Press, P. 88-104. 4. Proctor, R. (1988). Racial HyGiene. CambridGe, MA: Harvard University Press, P. 177- 222. 5. Benedict, S., O’Donnell, A., Shields, L. (2009). Children’s “euthanasia” in Nazi Germany. Journal of Pediatric NursinG, (246), 506-516. Suggested Video: HealinG by KillinG, Part I. Objectives: 1. To identify the major historical factors leadinG to the children's euthanasia ProGram 2. To describe the major beliefs of the German PeoPle and the German culture consistent with the develoPment of the children's euthanasia ProGram 3. To sPecifically apPraise the roles of Physicians and nurses in these killinGs 4. To analyze the connections between the killinG of disabled children and the apPlication of racial hyGiene Policy 5. To identify your feelinGs and thouGhts about the value of the individual and society's resPonsibility to Protect vulnerable GrouPs 6. To discuss the relevancy of this module to contemPorary Practice Discussion Points: 1. What was the role of German Government and Policy in decidinG who was "worthy" of continued life? 2 2. What were the socio-cultural and Political factors that led to the children's euthanasia ProGram? Could there have been a different outcome in this Place and time? 3. At what Point is the "line crossed" when makinG decisions about the termination of life and who has the riGht to make these decisions? 4. What is the inherent value of human life irresPective of mental and Physical conditions? 5. What is the relevancy between the children's euthanasia ProGram and contemPorary ethical issues you face today? Synopsis: The word “Euthanasia” means an easy death. The killinG of the disabled and handicapPed of Germany and Austria durinG National Socialism was anythinG but easy for the victims. It was involuntary, deceitful, cruel, unforGettable, and unforGivable. It beGan with the killinG of the most vulnerable: children with disabilities. There is not a sinGle factor that led to the killinG of 3,000 – 5,000 of these children. There was the stronGly held belief by the German PeoPle, and esPecially the German medical Profession, in euGenics. A stronGer and healthier race was to be created throuGh the elimination of “inferior” PeoPle. HandicapPed children were seen as Positive Proof that some PeoPle were Genetically or hereditarily “inferior”. There was the humiliatinG and financially devastatinG Treaty of Versailles which left Germany in desPerate economic straits, thus drastically cuttinG the resources to care for institutionalized children and adults. There was the beGinninG of World War II which necessitated reallocation of economic resources to the war effort and a call to free hosPital beds and staff to care for the wounded. There was the belief that severely handicapPed were livinG “lives unworthy of life” and to eliminate their existence was releasinG them from sufferinG and removinG a diseased Part from the healthy Volk. And 3 Perhaps the Greatest influence came from the Führer himself who had lonG advocated the elimination of the “weaker elements” of society. An imPortant event in the develoPment of the German euthanasia ProGrams was the Publication in 1920 of a book entitled Die FreiGabe der VernichtunG lebensunwerten Lebens (The sanctioninG of the destruction of lives unworthy to be lived). 1 Written by Alfred Hoche, a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of FreiburG, and Karl BindinG, a German judGe and former President of the Reichsagericht, the hiGhest criminal court,2 this book advocated the killinG of PeoPle who were “mentally ill or mentally defective”. It was within this book that the term “euthanasia” was used for the killinG of PeoPle with mental illnesses who could not Give consent.3 Hoche and BindinG asserted that the riGht to live must be earned and justified and that those who had no capacity for human feelinG were livinG lives not worth livinG and their destruction would be humane. 4 BindinG ProPosed that three GrouPs of Patients should be killed: 1) Patients with a terminal illness who were mentally comPetent and who exPressed a wish to die, (2) the “incurable lunatics” who had neither the will to live nor to die, and (3) PeoPle who were formerly mentally healthy but who had sustained a illness or injury that would make them either Permanently comatose or who would “awaken to a nameless misery” 5 Binder and Hoche stated that the elimination of those who are mentally comPletely dead is not a crime, not an immoral act, not brutal, but a Permissible and beneficial act.6 However, by German law, this “elimination” was a crime. 4 In a Nazi Party rally held in NuremberG on AuGust 5, 1929, Hitler stated the following: If Germany was to Get a million children a year and was to remove 700,000 - 800,000 of the weakest PeoPle then the final result miGht even be an increase in strenGth. The most danGerous thinG is for us to cut off the natural process of selection and thereby Gradually rob ourselves of the Possibility of acquirinG able PeoPle...As a result of our modern sentimental humanitarianism we are tryinG to maintain the weak at the exPense of the healthy. It Goes so far that a sense of charity, which calls itself socially resPonsible, is concerned to ensure that even cretins are able to Procreate while more healthy PeoPle refrain from doinG so, and all that is considered Perfectly understandable. Criminals have the oPPortunity of ProcreatinG, deGenerates are raised artificially and with difficulty. And in this way we are Gradually breedinG the weak and killinG off the stronG.7 It has been lonG rePorted that the imPetus for the children’s euthanasia ProGram came from a request to Hitler’s Chancellery by the father of a severely handicapPed child by the last name of Knauer8,9,10,11 to have the child killed. The child was described as beinG born blind, missinG one leG and Part of an arm, and Possibly an “idiot”12. More recently, Ulf Schmidt identified the child as Gerhard Herbert Kretschmar. He was born on February 20, 1939 in Pomβen. His Parents were rePorted to be ardent Nazis.13 The infant’s father, Richard Gerhard Kretschmar, contacted Dr. Werner Catel, the director of the University Children’s Clinic in LiPziG, to have the child “Put to sleeP” because Richard was concerned about the effect the child was havinG on the mother. Catel refused, believinG it was illeGal; however, the father, or accordinG to BurleiGh14, the child’s Grandmother, Petitioned Hitler to Grant Permission to have him killed. The Petition of the Kretschmar family was not unique. In fact, one official rePorted that two thousand such requests reached the Chancellery each day.15 5 However, this Particular request did catch Hitler’s attention and he sent Dr. Karl Brandt to LeiPziG to investiGate. Brandt was authorized by Hitler to allow the child to be killed if all agreed that the infant was as described. Thus the Kretschmar [Knauer] child became the first known victim of the Nazi euthanasia ProGram.16 TestifyinG in November 1960, Dr. Hefelmann of the Führer’s office stated Brandt told me later about the Knauer case. Hitler had Given him unrestricted authority to let the euthanasia take Place...at least Brandt told me that the child was Put to sleeP by Catel. I seem to remember that Brandt said that the euthanasia was done with tablets. Whoever undertook the actual euthanasia, Brandt or Catel, or a different Physician altoGether or even a careGiver is hard to say. I am quite certain that the euthanasia occurred at the University Clinic in LeiPziG.17 Subsequent requests for euthanasia were also dealt with at the Kanzlei des Führer and were considered “secret state action”. This children’s euthanasia ProGram was disGuised under the title of “The Reich Committee for the Scientific ReGistration of Serious Hereditary- and ConGenitally-based Illnesses” [Reichsausschuss zur wissenschaftlichen ErfassunG von erb- und anlagebedinGten schweren Leiden], known simPly as the “Reich Committee”.18 A Goal of the Reich Committee was to determine the number of newborns with Problems or conditions and to initiate the killinG of these children alonG with those children with disabilities who were already institutionalized.19 6 Photo courtesy of Judy Lott. 7 In 1939, a Ministry of Justice commission ProPosed the followinG: Clause 1: Whoever is sufferinG from an incurable or terminal illness which is a major burden to himself of others can request mercy killinG by a doctor, Provided it is his exPress wish and has the apProval of a sPecially emPowered doctor. Clause 2: The life of a Person who, because of incurable mental illness, requires Permanent institutionalization and is not able to sustain an indePendent existence may be Prematurely terminated by medical measures in a Painless and covert manner.20 On AuGust 18, 1939, the State Ministry of the Interior mandated that all Physicians and midwives rePort all newborns with observable Physical and/or mental disabilities: RE: The duty to rePort deformed births etc. 1. In order to clarify scientific questions in the field of conGenital deformities and intellectual under-develoPment [sic], it is necessary to reGister the relevant cases as soon as Possible.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Nurses and Midwives in Nazi Germany
    Downloaded by [New York University] at 03:18 04 October 2016 Nurses and Midwives in Nazi Germany This book is about the ethics of nursing and midwifery, and how these were abrogated during the Nazi era. Nurses and midwives actively killed their patients, many of whom were disabled children and infants and patients with mental (and other) illnesses or intellectual disabilities. The book gives the facts as well as theoretical perspectives as a lens through which these crimes can be viewed. It also provides a way to teach this history to nursing and midwifery students, and, for the first time, explains the role of one of the world’s most historically prominent midwifery leaders in the Nazi crimes. Downloaded by [New York University] at 03:18 04 October 2016 Susan Benedict is Professor of Nursing, Director of Global Health, and Co- Director of the Campus-Wide Ethics Program at the University of Texas Health Science Center School of Nursing in Houston. Linda Shields is Professor of Nursing—Tropical Health at James Cook Uni- versity, Townsville, Queensland, and Honorary Professor, School of Medi- cine, The University of Queensland. Routledge Studies in Modern European History 1 Facing Fascism 9 The Russian Revolution of 1905 The Conservative Party and the Centenary Perspectives European dictators 1935–1940 Edited by Anthony Heywood and Nick Crowson Jonathan D. Smele 2 French Foreign and Defence 10 Weimar Cities Policy, 1918–1940 The Challenge of Urban The Decline and Fall of a Great Modernity in Germany Power John Bingham Edited by Robert Boyce 11 The Nazi Party and the German 3 Britain and the Problem of Foreign Office International Disarmament Hans-Adolf Jacobsen and Arthur 1919–1934 L.
    [Show full text]
  • The Treatment of the Disabled at the Eichberg Asylum for the Mentally Ill in Nazi Germany
    In Fear of the Frail: The Treatment of the Disabled at the Eichberg Asylum for the Mentally Ill in Nazi Germany Markus Benedi kt Kreitmair B.A., Simon Fraser University, 1995 THESIS SUBMlïTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the Faculty of Arts (Department of History) O Markus Benedikt Kreitmair 2000 SIMON FRASER ONIVERSlTY March 2000 Ail rights resewed. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. National Library Bibliothèque nationale 1+1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. me Wellingtm OnawaON KlAW O(G8waON K1AON4 Canada canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or seil reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de rnicrofiche/nlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. The National Socialist era was a temfying time for Germany's disabled population.
    [Show full text]
  • Verlag Peter Grohmann
    Verlag Peter Grohmann Gedenken macht Leben menschlich. Vergessen macht es unmenschlich (Inschrift auf einer Gedenktafel für die Opfer der NS-«Euthanasie» der Landes-Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Wunstorf in Niedersachsen.) Karl-Horst Marquart «Behandlung empfohlen» In der Tötungsanstalt Grafeneck bei Gomadingen im baden-württembergi- schen Landkreis Reutlingen wur- den im Jahr 1940 im Rahmen der Krankenmorde in der Zeit des Nati- onalsozialismus, der so genannten Aktion T4, syste- matisch 10.654 Menschen mit Be- hinderung, vor al- lem aus Bayern, Baden und Würt- temberg, aber auch aus Hessen und dem heutigen Nordrhein-West- falen ermordet. Impressum Gedruckt mit freundlicher Unterstützung der Bezirksärztekammer Nordwürttemberg Alle Rechte bei Dr. med. Karl-Horst Marquart «Behandlung empfohlen» ist ein Non-Profit-Projekt und wurde unterstützt von Stolperstein-Initiativen, den Bürgerprojekten gegen Gewalt und Vergessen der Anstifter und weiteren Spenden. www.stolpersteine-stuttgart.dewww.die-anstifter.de Konto der Anstifter bei der GLS IBAN: DE31 4306 0967 7000 5827 01 BIC: GENODEM1GLS «Projektspende Medizinverbrechen» (Spendenbescheinigung) Layout und Grafik: www.atelier-stankowski.de Das Foto auf dem Umschlag zeigt das Eingangsportal des ehemaligen Kinderkrankenhauses Stuttgart Foto: Dr. Karl-Horst Marquart Peter-Grohmann-Verlag Kremmlerstrasse 51 A D 70597 Stuttgart [email protected] +49 711 2485677 Stuttgart 2015 ISBN 978-3-944137-33-9 Eingescannt mit OCR-Software ABBYY Fine Reader Ernst Klee (1942-2013) zum Gedächtnis Inhaltsverzeichnis EINLEITUNG 11 I. ZWANGSSTERILISATION MINDERJÄHRIGER 1. Obermedizinalrat Dr. Karl Lempp: «Ich [war] nie innerlich Nationalsozialist» 15 2. Die Unfruchtbarmachung unterblieb «wegen Erregungszustand der Geisteskranken» 34 3. Obwohl er «das kleine Einmaleins beherrscht, [...] aber dann darüber hinaus alsbald im Rechnen [...] versagt», wird ein 16-Jähriger zwangssterilisiert 46 4.
    [Show full text]
  • Endstation Hadamar – Bergsträßer Opfer Der NS – Rassenpolitik
    ENDSTATION HADAMAR BERGSTRÄSSER OPFER DER NS-RASSENPOLITIK GESCHICHTSWERKSTATT GESCHWISTER SCHOLL Geschichtswerkstatt Geschwister Scholl Endstation Hadamar Bergsträßer Opfer der NS-Rassenpolitik* Autorenverzeichnis BAUER, Tanja BILLAU, Kevin BÜCHLER, Manuela DARMSTÄDTER, Denis EICHHORN, Kathrin GRUB, Dominik HEER, Bastian HENRICH, Johannes HENSEL, Philipp HILLER, Sascha KIRSCHNER, Astrid MAI, Markus MARX, Janis OCH, Philipp RITSERT, Juliane SCHWANEBECK, Marcel SIMON, Pascal Leitung: Franz Josef Schäfer und Peter Lotz *Das Titelbild zeigt die Verflechtungen zwischen der zentralen Mordanstalt Hadamar, den „Zwischenanstalten“ und weiteren „Heil- und Pflegeanstalten“. Foto unten rechts: heutige Ansicht der früheren Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Heppenheim. Foto links oben: Rauchsäule des Krematoriums über der Anstalt Hadamar. Entnommen: Hadamar. Heilstätte – Tötungsanstalt – Therapiezentrum. Herausgegeben von Uta George/Georg Lilienthal/Volker Roelcke/Peter Sandner/Christina Vanja. Marburg 2006, S. 167. © Geschichtswerkstatt Geschwister Scholl, Bensheim 2008 2 Inhaltsverzeichnis Seite Vorwort von Matthias Wilkes, Landrates des Kreises Bergstraße 5 Einleitung 6 1. Historischer Kontext I Das „Gesetz zur Verhütung erbkranken Nachwuchses“ vom 14. Juli 1933 Das Menschenbild des Nationalsozialismus und seine Folgen 12 1.1 Wegbereiter der Rassenhygiene 12 1.1.1 Alfred Ploetz: Eine Utopie vom idealen Rassenprozess 12 1.1.2 Ernst Haeckel: Die Lebenswunder. Gemeinverständliche Studien über biologische Philosophie, 1904 13 1.1.3 Karl Binding und Alfred Hoche: Die Freigabe der Vernichtung lebensunwerten Lebens, 1920 14 1.2 Gesellschaftliche und ideologische Voraussetzungen 17 1.3 Zwangssterilisation als Vorstufe zur „Euthanasie“ 20 1.4 Verfahrensweise 31 1.5 NS – „Fürsorge- und Gesundheitspolitik“ 35 2. Historischer Kontext II „Euthanasie“ im NS – Staat ab 1939 41 2.1 Die „Kinder- und Jugendlicheneuthanasie“ (1939 – 1945) 41 2.2. Der „Führererlass“ 42 2.3 Die erste Mordphase (1939 – 1941) 44 2.4 Die zweite Mordphase (1941 – 1945) 48 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Euthanasie"-Verbrechen Musste Man Sich Bisher Vor Allem Auf Nachträglich Entstandene Prozessakten Stützen
    79 Bei der Rekonstruktion der „Euthanasie"-Verbrechen musste man sich bisher vor allem auf nachträglich entstandene Prozessakten stützen. In einem Sonderarchiv des Ministeriums für Staatssicherheit der DDR sind nun fast 30.000 Krankenakten aufge­ taucht, die es erlauben, den „Verwaltungsmassenmord'' (Hannah Arendt) an psychisch Kranken und geistig Behinderten minutiös nachzuzeichnen. Annette Hinz-Wessels, Petra Fuchs, Gerrit Hohendorf, Maike Rotzoll Zur bürokratischen Abwicklung eines Massenmords Die „Euthanasie"-Aktion im Spiegel neuer Dokumente Die Kenntnisse über die Planung und Durchführung der nationalsozialistischen Krankenmordaktion „T4"1 beruhen vor allem auf den Überlieferungen der betroffenen Anstalten und ihrer übergeordneten Verwaltungsbehörden sowie auf Zeugenvernehmungen und Täteraussagen, die im Zuge strafrechtlicher Ermitt­ lungen nach 1945 entstanden. Die internen Aufzeichnungen und Akten der eigentlichen „Euthanasie"-Verwaltungszentrale, der „Zentraldienststelle" in der Berliner Tiergartenstraße 4, sind seit Kriegsende verschollen2. Erst nach der Wende 1989/90 entdeckte man in einem Sonderarchiv des ehemaligen Ministeriums für Staatssicherheit (MfS) der DDR in Berlin-Hohen­ schönhausen fast 30.000 Krankenakten eben jener ca. 70.000 Opfer, die 1940/ 41 im Rahmen der „Aktion T4" in einer der insgesamt sechs Tötungsanstal- 1 Das Kürzel „T4", abgeleitet von der Adresse der „Euthanasie"-Organisationszentrale in der Berliner Tiergartenstraße 4, ist keine nationalsozialistische Tarnbezeichnung, sondern wird erst nach 1945 in
    [Show full text]
  • Medical Ethics in the 70 Years After the Nuremberg Code, 1947 to the Present
    wiener klinische wochenschrift The Central European Journal of Medicine 130. Jahrgang 2018, Supplement 3 Wien Klin Wochenschr (2018) 130 :S159–S253 https://​doi.org/​10.1007/​s00508-​018-​1343-y Online publiziert: 8 June 2018 © The Author(s) 2018 Medical Ethics in the 70 Years after the Nuremberg Code, 1947 to the Present International Conference at the Medical University of Vienna, 2nd and 3rd March 2017 Editors: Herwig Czech, Christiane Druml, Paul Weindling With contributions from: Markus Müller, Paul Weindling, Herwig Czech, Aleksandra Loewenau, Miriam Offer, Arianne M. Lachapelle-Henry, Priyanka D. Jethwani, Michael Grodin, Volker Roelcke, Rakefet Zalashik, William E. Seidelman, Edith Raim, Gerrit Hohendorf, Christian Bonah, Florian Schmaltz, Kamila Uzarczyk, Etienne Lepicard, Elmar Doppelfeld, Stefano Semplici, Christiane Druml, Claire Whitaker, Michelle Singh, Nuraan Fakier, Michelle Nderu, Michael Makanga, Renzong Qiu, Sabine Hildebrandt, Andrew Weinstein, Rabbi Joseph A. Polak history of medicine Table of contents Editorial: Medical ethics in the 70 years after the Nuremberg Code, 1947 to the present S161 Markus Müller Post-war prosecutions of ‘medical war crimes’ S162 Paul Weindling: From the Nuremberg “Doctors Trial” to the “Nuremberg Code” S165 Herwig Czech: Post-war trials against perpetrators of Nazi medical crimes – the Austrian case S169 Aleksandra Loewenau: The failure of the West German judicial system in serving justice: the case of Dr. Horst Schumann Miriam Offer: Jewish medical ethics during the Holocaust: the unwritten ethical code From prosecutions to medical ethics S172 Arianne M. Lachapelle-Henry, Priyanka D. Jethwani, Michael Grodin: The complicated legacy of the Nuremberg Code in the United States S180 Volker Roelcke: Medical ethics in Post-War Germany: reconsidering some basic assumptions S183 Rakefet Zalashik: The shadow of the Holocaust and the emergence of bioethics in Israel S186 William E.
    [Show full text]
  • Kancelář Vůdce NSDAP a Akce „T4“
    struktury moci Kancelář vůdce NSDAP a akce „T4“ PavEL ZEMAN Již v roce 1924 napsal Adolf Hitler v Mein Kampfu, že není možné nechat nevylé­ čitelně nemocné, aby dál trvale infikovali zdravé.1 O tři roky později se na sjezdu Nacionálně socialistické německé dělnické strany (NSDAP) v Norimberku zmínil ve svém projevu o eugenickém zabíjení novorozenců: Pokud Německo každý rok získá milion dětí a zbaví se 700 000 až 800 000 nejslabších jedinců, potom by v konečném důsledku mělo sílit. Největší nebezpečí pro nás představuje neumožnit proces přírodního výběru, a tím se ošidit o možnost získávat schopné jedince.2 V roce 1935 řekl Adolf Hitler Gerhardu čisté a zdravé německé společnosti že je to nezákonné, měl otec dítěte Wagnerovi 3, říšskému vedoucímu lé- v nacistickém duchu. o totéž požádat Adolfa Hitlera. Ten kařů (Reichsärzteführer), že v případě Před zahájením „eutanazie“ ne- pověřil svého osobního lékaře Karla rozpoutání války nařídí provedení „eu- vyléčitelných dospělých pacientů Brandta8 konzultací s lékaři ohledně tanazie.“4 Tomuto slovu dostál v říjnu psychiatrických ústavů na přelomu zdravotního stavu dítěte s tím, že 1939, kdy vydal písemné zmocnění let 1939/40 byla nejprve připravena pokud je zpráva o slepém retardova- k provedení „eutanazie“ na nevylé- „eutanazie“ dětí. K jejímu spuštění ném dítěti bez částí končetin, s malou čitelně nemocných.5 „Eutanazie“ se údajně vedla žádost rodiny Knauerů hlavou a trpícím ne ustálými křečemi 9 tak stala vedle Zákona k zabránění z Lipska z přelomu let 1938/39. Ta se pravdivá, má být lékařům povolena početí dědičně postiženého potomstva měla obrátit na ředitele dětské uni- „eutanazie“. Po Catelově kladné od- (Gesetz zur Verhütung erbkranken verzitní kliniky v Lipsku, profesora povědi měla být lékařům na dětské Nachwuchses), který nacistický Wernera Catela7 s prosbou, aby usmr- klinice v Lipsku „eutanazie“ povolena.
    [Show full text]
  • „…Herzlichen Dank Für Alles, Was Sie Unserem Konrad an Güte Und Liebe Geben“ ‚Kindereuthanasie‘ Im Nationalsozialismus
    „…herzlichen Dank für Alles, was Sie unserem Konrad an Güte und Liebe geben“ ‚Kindereuthanasie‘ im Nationalsozialismus Diplomarbeit zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines Magisters der Philosophie an der Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz vorgelegt von Lukas HOSCHER am Institut für Geschichte Begutachter: O. Univ.-Prof. Dr. phil. Dr. h.c. Helmut Konrad Eidesstattliche Erklärung Ich versichere, dass ich die vorliegende Arbeit selbstständig verfasst, andere als die angegebenen Quellen nicht benutzt und mich auch sonst keiner unerlaubten Hilfe bedient habe. ________________________ ________________________ Datum Unterschrift Danksagung An dieser Stelle möchte ich mich bei all denjenigen bedanken, die mich während der Anfertigung dieser Diplomarbeit unterstützt und motiviert haben. Zuerst gebührt mein Dank Herrn Dr. Helmut Konrad, der meine Diplomarbeit nicht nur betreut und begutachtet hat, sondern mir auch mit hilfreichen Anregungen und konstruktiver Kritik geholfen hat. Ebenfalls möchte ich mich bei meiner Freundin, Sophie, bedanken, welche mich immer unterstützt und motiviert hat. Ein ganz besonderer Dank gilt der Familie Viertler, allen voran Pater Koloman, welcher mir zahlreiche Informationen über seinen Bruder, Konrad Viertler, zur Verfügung gestellt hat. Vielen Dank auch an meine Geschwister, Verena und Georg, die großes Interesse an dem Fortschritt der Diplomarbeit hatten und mir bei Problemen mit der Formulierung immer zur Seite standen. Abschließend möchte ich mich bei meinen Eltern, Monika und Franz, bedanken, die mich nicht
    [Show full text]
  • AKTION T 4.Pdf
    ALDO PAVIA ANTONELLA TIBURZI AKTION T 4 Eutanasia, le radici dello sterminio Comune di Roma – Assessorato e Dipartimento alle Politiche Educative e Scolastiche Fondazione Memoria della Deportazione - ANED Roma Eutanasia: le radici dello sterminio nazista. T4: con questa sigla, con questa denominazione è popolarmente noto il criminale programma di stermino, voluto dai nazisti, nei confronti di bambini, donne, uomini definiti con un crudele eufemismo “vite che non meritano di essere vissute”. T4, da Tiergarten Strasse, 4 –Berlino, l’indirizzo del quartiere generale da cui tutta l’Operazione Eutanasia venne diretta e gestita. L’Aktion T4 non ebbe lo scopo di rendere più breve la vita a persone afflitte da malattie incurabili, particolarmente dolorose. Non fu avviata per alleviare le sofferenze, a volte atroci, di malati terminali. Reale scopo di questa Aktion fu quello di assassinare esseri umani giudicati inferiori. Ben poche delle vittime presentavano reali disturbi mentali, molti erano solo sordi, o ciechi, o erano portatori di deformità fisiche. Non accettabili, per gli assassini nel loro assurdo, folle progetto di forgiare un popolo, una nazione forte, pura nella suo essere razza superiore, dominatrice. Era per i nazisti assolutamente essenziale espellere, cancellare i disabili dal tessuto genetico nazionale. Il patrimonio ereditario divenne così il metro di giudizio che determinava la selezione delle vittime, valutate non solo individualmente ma ancor più in quanto appartenenti a gruppi predefiniti, e non passibili di alcuna modificazione o evoluzione genetica positiva, che furono identificati in: disabili, ebrei, zingari (Rom e Sinti). Nei loro confronti, già a partire dagli anni Trenta, furono messe in atto persecuzioni e procedure di allontanamento, di emarginazione.
    [Show full text]
  • Die „Euthanasie“ an Kindern Während Des Nationalsozialismus in Den Zwei Hamburger Kinderfachabteilungen
    UNIVERSITÄTSKLINIKUM HAMBURG-EPPENDORF Zentrum für Psychosoziale Medizin, Institut für Allgemeinmedizin Prof. Dr. Hendrik van den Bussche Die „Euthanasie“ an Kindern während des Nationalsozialismus in den zwei Hamburger Kinderfachabteilungen Dissertation zur Erlangung des Grades eines Doktors der Medizin an der Medizinischen Fakultät der Universität Hamburg. vorgelegt von: Marc Burlon aus Hanau Hamburg 2009 Angenommen von der Medizinischen Fakultät der Universität Hamburg am: 15.04.2010 Veröffentlicht mit Genehmigung der Medizinischen Fakultät der Universität Hamburg. Prüfungsausschuss, der Vorsitzende: Prof. Dr. med. van den Bussche Prüfungsausschuss, zweiter Gutachter: Prof. Dr. med. Schmiedebach Prüfungsausschuss, dritter Gutachter: Prof. Dr. med. Naber 2 Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Hintergrund der Untersuchung ............................................................................. 5 2 Zielsetzung und Fragestellung ............................................................................... 7 3 Material und Methodik ......................................................................................... 9 3.1 Angaben zum Untersuchungsgut und zu den ausgewählten Methoden ................................................................ 9 4 Die „Euthanasie“ im NS-Staat ............................................................................. 16 4.1 Geschichtlicher Hintergrund der „Euthanasie“ ............................................................................................................16 5 Die „Euthanasie“ im Rahmen
    [Show full text]
  • The Nazis' First Victims Were the Disabled
    2/1/2021 Opinion | The Nazis’ First Victims Were the Disabled - The New York Times DISABILITY The Nazis’ First Victims Were the Disabled By Kenny Fries Sept. 13, 2017 I sit facing the young German neurologist, across a small table in a theater in Hamburg, Germany. I’m here giving one-on-one talks called “The Unenhanced: What Has Happened to Those Deemed ʻUnfit’,” about my research on Aktion T4, the Nazi “euthanasia” program to exterminate the disabled. “I’m afraid of what you’re going to tell me,” the neurologist says. I’m not surprised. I’ve heard similar things before. But this time is different — the young man sitting across from me is a doctor. Aktion T4 could not have happened without the willing participation of German doctors. I have a personal stake in making sure this history is remembered. In 1960, I was born missing bones in both legs. At the time, some thought I should not be allowed to live. Thankfully, my parents were not among them. I first discovered that people with disabilities were sterilized and killed by the Nazis when I was a teenager, watching the TV mini-series “Holocaust” in 1978. But it would be years before I understood the connections between the killing of the disabled and the killing of Jews and other “undesirables,” all of whom were, in one way or another, deemed “unfit.” The neurologist does not know much about what I’m telling him. While he does know that approximately 300,000 disabled people were killed in T4 and its aftermath, he doesn’t know about the direct connection between T4 and the Holocaust.
    [Show full text]
  • Der Fall Leipzig (Alias Fall" Kind Knauer") Und Die Planung Der NS
    Udo Benzenhöfer Der Fall Leipzig (alias Fall „Kind Knauer“) und die Planung der NS-„Kindereuthanasie“ Klemm & Oelschläger Münster 2008 Die Deutsche Bibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliographie: detaillierte bibliographische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.ddb.de abrufbar. Erste Auflage 2008 © 2008, Verlag Klemm & Oelschläger, Münster www.klemm-oelschlaeger.de Alle Rechte beim Verlag! Ohne ausdrückliche Genehmigung des Verlags ist es nicht gestattet, das Buch oder Teile daraus auf fotomechanischem Weg (Fotokopie, Mikrokopie usw.) zu vervielfältigen oder in elektronische Systeme einzuspeisen, zu verarbeiten oder zu verbreiten. Satz und Umschlaggestaltung: Ralph Gabriel, Wien Druck und Bindung: buch bücher dd ag, Birkach ISBN 978-3-932577-98-7 Inhalt 1. Einleitung . 9 2. „Forschungs“-Geschichte . 12 2.1. Untersuchungen bis 1998 . 12 2.2. Eigene Untersuchungen 1997/1998 . 21 2.3. Exkurs: U. Schmidt ‒ geistige Piraterie und schlechte Wissenschaft . 23 2.4. Revision in Bezug auf Pomßen . 25 3. Vorgeschichte der NS-„Kindereuthanasie“ . 28 4. Zur Kanzlei des Führers und zur Frage, ob hier schon vor dem Fall Leipzig die „Kindereuthanasie“ ins Auge gefasst wurde . 32 5. Zum Fall Leipzig . 51 5.1. Zum Namen, zum Alter, zum Geschlecht und zur Behinderung des Kindes . 51 5.2. Zum „Gnadentodgesuch“ . 53 5.3. Zur Datierung des Falles . 54 6. Exkurs: 1938/1939 in Leipzig verstorbene Kinder mit dem Namen Knauer . 58 7. Exkurs: Zu dem laut A. Hartl 1938 durch Brack erteilten Auftrag, ein „Gutachten“ zur Stellung der katholischen Kirche zur „Euthanasie“ einzuholen . 61 8. Zur Planungsgruppe für die „Kindereuthanasie“ . 65 8.1. Überblick . 65 8.2. Die Aussagen von Wentzler und Loeffler .
    [Show full text]