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Nazi EuthanasiaIn October of 1939 amid the turmoil of the outbreak of war Hitler ordered widespread
"mercy killing" of the sick and disabled.Code named "ktion ! #" the $a%i euthanasia program to eliminate "life unworthy of
life" at first focused on newborns and &ery young children. 'idwi&es and doctors were
re(uired to register children up to age three who showed symptoms of mental retardation# physical deformity# or other symptoms included on a (uestionnaire from the )eich Health
'inistry.
decision on whether to allow the child to li&e was then made by three medical e*pertssolely on the basis of the (uestionnaire# without any e*amination and without reading any
medical records.
+ach e*pert placed a , mark in red pencil or - mark in blue pencil under the term
"treatment" on a special form. red plus mark meant a decision to kill the child. blueminus sign meant a decision against killing. !hree plus symbols resulted in a euthanasia
warrant being issued and the transfer of the child to a Childrens /pecialty 0epartment
for death by inection or gradual star&ation.
!he decision had to be unanimous. In cases where the decision was not unanimous thechild was kept under obser&ation and another attempt would be made to get a unanimous
decision.!he $a%i euthanasia program (uickly e*panded to include older disabled children and
adults. Hitlers decree of October# 1939# typed on his personal stationary# enlarged "the
authority of certain physicians to be designated by name in such manner that personswho# according to human udgment# are incurable can# upon a most careful diagnosis of
their condition of sickness# be accorded a mercy death."
2uestionnaires were then distributed to mental institutions# hospitals and other
institutions caring for the chronically ill.atients had to be reported if they suffered from schi%ophrenia# epilepsy# senile disorders#
therapy resistant paralysis and syphilitic diseases# retardation# encephalitis# Huntingtonschorea and other neurological conditions# also those who had been continuously ininstitutions for at least 4 years# or were criminally insane# or did not posses 5erman
citi%enship or were not of 5erman or related blood# including 6ews# $egroes# and
5ypsies. total of si* killing centers were established including the well known psychiatric clinic
at Hadamar. !he euthanasia program was e&entually headed by an // man named
Christian 7irth# a notorious brute with the nickname the sa&age Christian.
t 8randenburg# a former prison was con&erted into a killing center where the first $a%ie*perimental gassings took place. !he gas chambers were disguised as shower rooms# but
were actually hermetically sealed chambers connected by pipes to cylinders of carbon
mono*ide. atients were generally drugged before being led naked into the gas chamber.+ach killing center included a crematorium where the bodies were taken for disposal.
amilies were then falsely told the cause of death was medical such as heart failure or
pneumonia.
8ut the huge increase in the death rate for the disabled combined with the &ery ob&ious plumes of odorous smoke o&er the killing centers aroused suspicion and fear. t
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Hadamar# for e*ample# local children e&en taunted arri&ing busloads of patients by saying
"here comes some more to be gassed."
On ugust 3# 191# a Catholic 8ishop# Clemens &on 5alen# deli&ered a sermon in':nster Cathedral attacking the $a%i euthanasia program calling it "plain murder." !he
sermon sent a shockwa&e through the $a%i leadership by publicly condemning the
program and urged 5erman Catholics to "withdraw oursel&es and our faithful from their;$a%i< influence so that we may not be contaminated by their thinking and their ungodly
beha&ior."
s a result# on ugust =3# Hitler suspended ktion !# which had accounted for nearly ahundred thousand deaths by this time.
!he $a%is retaliated against the 8ishop by beheading three parish priests who had
distributed his sermon# but left the 8ishop unharmed to a&oid making him into a martyr.
Howe&er# the $a%i euthanasia program (uietly continued# but without the widespreadgassings. 0rugs and star&ation were used instead and doctors were encouraged to decide
in fa&or of death whene&er euthanasia was being considered.
!he use of gas chambers at the euthanasia killing centers ultimately ser&ed as training
centers for the //. !hey used the technical knowledge and e*perience gained during theeuthanasia program to construct huge killing centers at uschwit%# !reblinka and other
concentration camps in an attempt to e*terminate the entire 6ewish population of +urope.// personnel from the euthanasia killing centers# notably 7irth# ran% )eichleitner and
ran% /tangl later commanded e*termination camps.
http>??www.historyplace.com?worldwar=?holocaust?h-euthanasia.htm
orced sterili%ation in 5ermany was the forerunner of the systematic killing of thementally ill and the handicapped. In October 1939# Hitler himself initiated a decree which
empowered physicians to grant a @mercy deathA to @patients considered incurable
according to the best a&ailable human udgment of their state of health.A !he intent of thesocalled @euthanasiaA program# howe&er# was not to relie&e the suffering of the
chronically ill. !he $a%i regime used the term as a euphemism> its aim was to
e*terminate the mentally ill and the handicapped# thus @cleansingA the @ryanA race of
persons considered genetically defecti&e and a financial burden to society.!he idea of killing the incurably ill was posed well before 1939. In the 19=Bs# debate on
this issue centered on a book coauthored by lfred Hoche# a noted psychiatrist# and arl
8inding# a prominent scholar of criminal law. !hey argued that economic sa&ings ustified the killing of @useless li&esA ;@idiotsA and @congenitally crippledA
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In 1934 Hitler stated pri&ately that @in the e&ent of war# DheE would take up the (uestion
of euthanasia and enforce itA because @such a problem would be more easily sol&edA
during wartime. 7ar would pro&ide both a co&er for killing and a prete*tFhospital bedsand medical personnel would be freed up for the war effort. !he uphea&al of war and the
diminished &alue of human life during wartime would also# Hitler belie&ed# mute
e*pected opposition. !o make the connection to the war e*plicit# Hitlers decree was backdated to /eptember 1# 1939# the day 5ermany in&aded oland.
earful of public reaction# the $a%i regime ne&er proposed a formal @euthanasiaA law.
Gnlike the forced sterili%ations# the killing of patients in mental asylums and otherinstitutions was carried out in secrecy. !he code name was @Operation !#A a reference to
!iergartenstrasse # the address of the 8erlin Chancellery offices where the program was
head(uartered.
hysicians# the most highly $a%ified professional group in 5ermany# were key to thesuccess of @!-#A since they organi%ed and carried out nearly# all aspects of the operation.
One of Hitlers personal physicians# 0r. arl 8randt# headed the program# along with
Hitlers Chancellery chief# hilip 8ouhler. !- targeted adult patients in all go&ernment or
church-run sanatoria and nursing homes. !hese institutions were instructed by the Interior 'inistry to collect (uestionnaires about the state of health and capacity for work of all
their patients# ostensibly as part of a statistical sur&ey.!he completed forms were# in turn# sent to e*pert @assessorsAFphysicians# usually
psychiatrists# who made up @re&iew commissions.A !hey marked each name with a @,A in
red pencil# meaning death# or a @-A in blue pencil# meaning life# or @A for cases needingadditional assessment. !hese medical e*perts rarely e*amined any of the patients and
made their decisions from the (uestionnaires alone. t e&ery step# the medical authorities
in&ol&ed were usually e*pected to (uickly process large numbers of forms.
!he doomed were bused to killing centers in 5ermany and ustria walled-in fortresses#mostly former psychiatric hospitals# castles# and a former prisonFat Hartheim#
/onnenstein# 5rafeneck# 8ernburg# Hadamar# and 8randenburg. In the beginning# patients
were killed by lethal inectiosto0. 8ut by 19B# Hitler# on the ad&ice of 0r. 7ernerHeyde# suggested that carbon mono*ide gas be used as the preferred method of killing.
+*perimental gassings had first been carried out at 8randenburg rison in 1939. !here#
gas chambers were disguised as showers complete with fake no%%les in order to decei&e&ictimsFprototypes of the killing centers facilities built in occupied oland later in the
war.
gain# following procedures that would later be instituted in the e*termination camps#
workers remo&ed the corpses from the chambers# e*tracted gold teeth# then burned largenumbers of bodies together in crematoria. Grns filled with ashes were prepared in the
e&ent the family of the deceased re(uested the remains. hysicians using fake names
prepared death certificates falsifying the cause of death# and sent letters of condolences torelati&es.
'eticulous records disco&ered after the war documented B#=3 deaths by gassing at the
si* @euthanasiaA centers between 6anuary 19B and ugust 191. ;!his total included upto 4#BBB 6ewsJ all 6ewish mental patients were killed regardless of their ability to work or
the seriousness of their illness.< detailed report also recorded the estimated sa&ings
from the killing of institutionali%ed patients.
!he secrecy surrounding the !- program broke down (uickly. /ome staff members were
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indiscreet while drinking in local pubs after work. 0espite precautions# errors were made>
hairpins turned up in urns sent to relati&es of male &ictimsJ the cause of death was listed
as appendicitis when the patient had the appendi* remo&ed years before. !he town ofHadamar school pupils called the gray transport buses @killing cratesA and threatened
each other with the taunt# @Koull end up in the Hadamar o&ensLA !he thick smoke from
the incinerator was said to be &isible e&ery day o&er Hadamar ;where# in midsummer191# the staff celebrated the cremation of their 1B#BBBth patient with beer and wine
ser&ed in the crematorium
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In all# between =BB#BBB and =4B#BBB mentally and physically handicapped persons were
murdered from 1939 to 194 under the !- and other @euthanasiaA programs. !he
magnitude of these crimes and the e*tent to which they prefigured the @inal /olutionAcontinue to be studied. urther# in an age of genetic engineering and renewed contro&ersy
o&er mercy killings of the incurably ill# ethical and moral issues of concern to physicians#
scientists# and lay persons alike remain &ital.
https>??www.ushmm.org?learn?students?learning-materials-and-resources?mentally-and-
physically-handicapped-&ictims-of-the-na%i-era?euthanasia-killings
$a%i +ugenics chart
!he /horter O*ford +nglish 0ictionary defines
euthanasia as “the action of inducing a quiet and easy death.” !his grant of a @mercy deathA mayoccur with the consent of the indi&idual concerned#
is then termed @&oluntaryA @euthanasiaA and was themeaning originally gi&en to the word. Howe&er#
euthanasia also came to be termed @in&oluntaryA# asfor e*ample when a patient is suffering from an
incurable and painful disease# or is in a coma and is
considered unlikely to regain consciousness. In suchcircumstances# a third party or parties may determine
to put an end to the patientQs suffering.
https://www.ushmm.org/learn/students/learning-materials-and-resources/mentally-and-physically-handicapped-victims-of-the-nazi-era/euthanasia-killingshttps://www.ushmm.org/learn/students/learning-materials-and-resources/mentally-and-physically-handicapped-victims-of-the-nazi-era/euthanasia-killingshttp://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/euthan/images/nazi%20eugenics%20chart.jpghttps://www.ushmm.org/learn/students/learning-materials-and-resources/mentally-and-physically-handicapped-victims-of-the-nazi-era/euthanasia-killingshttps://www.ushmm.org/learn/students/learning-materials-and-resources/mentally-and-physically-handicapped-victims-of-the-nazi-era/euthanasia-killingshttp://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/euthan/images/nazi%20eugenics%20chart.jpg
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!he circumstances are# in general# that the personin&ol&ed is no longer capable of making up his or
her mind and?or to e*press his or her ultimate wish.
8ut $a%i @@euthanasiaAA was (uite different inconception and practice from the dictionary
definition# old or new. or it was deri&ed# not fromhumanitarian or compassionate reasoning# but from pseudo-scientific theory and ruthless economic
policy. !he $a%is destroyed @life unworthy of lifeA
(lebensunwertes Leben) as they termed it# not as anact of mercy# but as part of a strategy to murder that part of the population least able to defend itself.
$a%i ropaganda 0rawing
!hat policy was directed not only at 5erman
citi%ens# but at those of other eastern +uropean
countries which fell under $a%i hegemony# particularly oland. !he @@euthanasiaAA programme
formed an essential part of the e&ol&ing $a%i policyof e*termination on a massi&e scale. !hat policy
reached its apogee with the murder of the 6ews# but
had the programme arri&ed at its intendedconclusion# the e&entual death toll would ha&e been
immeasurably greater.
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!he $a%is did not create this twisted &ersion of euthanasia. Its roots lay in a selecti&e reading of the
e&olutionary theories of Charles 0arwin# and the
distorted @scientificA thinking to which this ga&e birth. !he term "eugenics"# a thesis which has no
scientific basis# was coined in 11 by the 8ritishnaturalist and mathematician rancis 5alton. It wasdescribed as "the science of the impro&ement of the
human race by better breeding."
!his took the concept of @sur&i&al of the fittestA# a
fundamental element of $a%i ideology# to its logicalconclusion. +ugenics de&eloped within the larger
mo&ement of /ocial 0arwinism# which applied
0arwins "struggle for sur&i&al" to human affairs.!he fundamental tenet of the eugenics mo&ement
was that restricting the ability of @inferiorA people to
procreate whilst ma*imi%ing that of @superiorAindi&iduals# would benefit society. ttention was
focused on the feebleminded ;an inaccurate term
co&ering e&erything from mental retardation toalcoholism
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intelligent than the fair #eo#les of western and northern Euro#e& wrote one# adding that the &Negrolies at the botto of the scale& of intelligence. HarryHamilton Maughlin# director of the +ugenics )ecordOffice in the Gnited /tates# compared” huan
racial crossing with ongrelisation in the anial world& and argued that &iigrants fro southernand eastern Euro#e! es#ecially ews! were racially so different fro! and genetically so inferior to! thecurrent erican #o#ulation that any racial i*turewould be deleterious.&!he eugenics mo&ement was international# ;the
worldQs first professorial chair in eugenics was
established in 19B9 at Gni&ersity College Mondon
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$a%i encouragement of 5enetically Healthamilies propaganda
or 8inding and Hoche# the right to li&e was not anentitlement but was to be earned# and it was earned
by being a useful economic contributor to society.7riting of those with disabilities# and ad&ocating
@in&oluntary euthanasiaA# they continued0 “$heir lifeis absolutely #ointless! but they do not regard it asbeing unbearable. $hey are a terrible! hea%y burdenu#on their relati%es and society as a whole. $heir death would not create e%en the sallest ga#""e*ce#t #erha#s in the feelings of their others or loyal nurses.” !he unimaginable had occurredJ physicianswere being encouraged# not to sa&e life# but to takeit.gainst such a background of pernicious nonsense
mas(uerading as legitimate scholarly research# it is
hardly surprising that dolf Hitler became an earlyand enthusiastic supporter of this @@euthanasiaA.A In
5ermany the term ")ace Hygiene" was in use long
before the label of @eugenicsA became common# andthe 5erman /ociety for )ace Hygiene ; +eutsche1esellschaft f2r ,assenhygiene< was to e&entuallyrepresent all eugenicists.
In 1931# two years before HitlerQs assumption of power# rit% Men%# professor of race hygiene at the
Gni&ersity of 'unich# declared> &3itler is the first #olitician with truly wide influence who hasrecognized that the central ission of all #olitics israce hygiene and who will acti%ely su##ort thisission.& nd support it he did. In 193 +rnst ):din# psychiatrist and author of the 1933 $a%i sterili%ation
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law stated> "$he #sychiatrist and the healthy #ersonare allies against the genetically defecti%e. $he #sychiatrist ust render his ser%ice to the ultiateai of a hereditary #ure! able and su#erior race.& Ittook /amuel 8eckett to point out the irony in this
$a%i obsession with the creation of a race of @supermen.A n RryanQ# he wrote# must be blondelike Hitler# thin like 5Nring# handsome like
5oebbels# &irile like )Nhm P and be named
)osenberg.
At the 1929 party rally, Hitler had suggested that
countless lives could be eliminated by racial
measures:
!hose designated as "useless eaters"
“If 1erany was to get a illion children a yearand was to reo%e 455"655!555 of the weakest #eo#le! then the final result ight e%en be anincrease in strength. $he ost dangerous thing is for us to cut off the natural #rocess of selection andthereby rob oursel%es of the #ossibility of acquiringable #eo#le. $he first born are not always the osttalented or strongest #eo#le7 s a result of ourodern huanitarianis we are trying to aintainthe weak at the e*#ense of the healthy.”fter attaining power in 1933# the $a%is began an
e*tensi&e propaganda campaign with the obect of
ac(uainting the 5erman people with the benefits of @@euthanasiaA.A Sia newspapers and maga%ines#
radio and film# the suggestion was made that life
could be so much better for the producti&e many if
the non-producti&e few# who were such a burden tothe nation# were simply eliminated. 7ould it not be
better for them if an end was put to their misery and
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suffering8ut the road to state sanctioned murder was to be a
gradual one. 7ith the early introduction of
legislation ;the Maw for the )estoration of therofessional Ci&il /er&ice of pril 1933
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arl 8randt
8y the end of 193# the regime was recei&ing
re(uests from the families of newborn or &ery young
children with se&ere deformities and brain damagefor the grant of a @mercy killingA (1nadentod). In
particular# a petition was recei&ed in respect of aninfant named 5erhard Herbert retschmar# the so-
called RnauerQ child# who had been born on =Bebruary 1939# blind# with one leg and part of one
arm missing# and who was described as an @idiot.A
Hitler ordered arl 8randt# his personal physician# to&isit the child in a hospital at Meip%ig. 8randt
testified at his post-war $:rnberg trial he had been
instructed that if the facts pro&ided by the childQsfather pro&ed to be correct# he was to inform the
physicians in HitlerQs name that @@euthanasiaAA
could be carried out P which it was# on =4 6uly 1939.It is arguable that the RnauerQ case was the catalystfor all that followed# although it could e(ually be
argued that HitlerQs dedication to @@euthanasiaAA was
such that its introduction was ine&itable at some point in the mercifully brief history of $ational
/ocialism.
On his return to 8erlin# 8randt was authori%ed by
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Hitler to proceed in the same fashion with similar cases. Hitler did not wish to be publicly associated
with what e&en he considered to be a delicate matter#
and so 8randt was ordered to secretly organi%e a programme with the aid of hilip 8ouhler# head of
the Chancellery of the -2hrer ;d> 9anzlei des -2hrer der N'+:
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cases of @deformedA newborn. +&en before war came in /eptember 1939# the $a%is had thus
established a go&ernment sanctioned process for
murder. !wo laymen made a preliminary selection of cases# which was then re&iewed by three medical
professors who determined the fate of the child. If selected for @@euthanasiaAA# the child was transferredto one of a list of special hospital wards for killing.
s early as 6uly 1939# 7erner Heyde# who was to
play a prominent role in the @@euthanasiaAA
programme# attended a meeting at which he learnedof the imminent killing of the adult mentally ill. s
with the Rinal /olutionQ# @@euthanasiaAA pro&ided a
perfect confluence of the two essential elements of $ational /ocialist ideology P the biological and the
economic.
A hospital director, Ludwig Schaich reported:“;hen it becae increasingly a##arent! in the final years before =! that war was iinent! welearned that there had been discussion in the ,eich 8inistry of the Interior about #utting the inates ofhos#itals and nursing hoes for the entally ill! theentally deficient and e#ile#tics on drasticallyreduced rations in the e%ent of war. ;hen weob?ected that this would ean condening our #atients to a slow but certain death by star%ation!they carefully began to sound out how the 3oe
8ission would react if the state were to conte#latethe eliination of certain categories of sick #ersonin wartie! gi%en that food su##lies! once i#ortsdried u#! would no longer suffice to feed the entire #o#ulation.”
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!iergartenstrasse
In a report prepared for Hitler in the summer of
1939# another of his personal physicians# 0r !heodore 'orell# ha&ing re&iewed a sur&ey carried
out in the 19=Bs of the parents of se&erely
handicapped children# wrote> “ nuber of #arentse*#ressed the %iew0 @If only you had done it ;i.e.#@@euthanasiaAA< and then told us that our child had died fro an illness.A $here is a lesson for us there.;e need not su##ose that we cannot carry out any
salutary easure without the consent of the so%ereign #eo#le.”It was clear that the regime could e*pect no greatnegati&e reaction to the programme from the general
populace. sur&ey conducted in pril 191 re&ealed
that BU of the relati&es of those murdered by the programme were in agreement with the decision#
1BU spoke out against it# and 1BU were indifferent.
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It has been suggested that this policy of RofficialsecrecyQ# where people knew while pretending not to
know# and only a &ery few protested# was an
in&itation to denial and moral indifference on the part of both the 5erman establishment and the
5erman nation as a whole. It laid the foundation for a similar reaction to the Rinal /olution.Q If peopledid not protest at the murder of their own relati&es#
they were hardly likely to do so when 6ews# 5ypsies#
and foreigners were slaughtered.
lthough Hitler had already gi&en &erbalauthorisation to the @euthanasiaA enthusiasts# he
wished to a&oid the passing of an official law.
Howe&er# he was pressed to confirm his instructions.In a dictatorship# no debate was necessary# no act of
go&ernment re(uired. It was enough for Hitler to
simply issue a command ;rarely e*plicit# and e&enmore infre(uently in writing< for his wishes to attain
the force of law. nd so# in October 1939# a brief
decree was issued on HitlerQs pri&ate stationery andsigned by him>
Hitlers order to 8ouhler
authori%ing the ! program
“,eich Leader /ouhler and +r /randt are chargeswith the res#onsibility for e*#anding the authority of #hysicians! to be designated by nae! to the end that #atients considered incurable according to the besta%ailable huan ?udgeent of their state of health!can be granted a ercy death. B,eichsleiter /ouhler und +r. ed. /randt sind unter erantwortung
beauftragt! die /efugnisse naentlich zubestiender Crzte so zu erweitern! dass nachenschlichen Eressen unheilbar 9ranken beikritischster /eurteilung ihres 9rankheitszustandesder 1nadentod gewDhrt werden kann.)!hose responsible for subse(uent e&ents later drew
up se&eral bills that would ha&e made
@@euthanasiaAA legal# but these were reected by
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Hitler. He belie&ed ;almost certainly correctly< thatthis would present an unacceptable propaganda
opportunity to the enemy. It was necessary to wait
until final &ictory had been achie&ed before passingsuch a law.
!he decree was backdated to 1 /eptember 1939 tocoincide with the date of commencement of the/econd 7orld 7ar. fter operating from a number of
different addresses# a permanent head(uarters for the
new organi%ation was established at
!iergartenstrasse in 8erlin. !he premises wererented by the d in early 19B under the name of
theR)eich 7ork 5roup of /anatoria and $ursing
HomesQ (,eichsarbeitsgeeinschaft 3eil" und :flegeanstalten0 ,1).!he organi%ationQs code name# !# was taken from
this address. Other dummy organisations were set upunder seemingly innocuous titles P the RCharitable
oundation for Institutional CareQ (1eeinn2tzige'tiftung f2r nstalts#flege0 'tiftung )! the RCharitable/ociety for the !ransportation of the /ick MimitedQ
(F1eeinn2tziger 9rankentrans#ort 1b3F01ekrat)# the RCentral Compensation Office for /anatoria and $ursing Homes
(Gentral%errechnungsstelle 3eil" und :flegeanstalten> G'$).Q !hese names were allintended to camouflage the true purpose of the
murderous plan.!he ultimate authority for the @@euthanasiaAA
operation was 3au#tat II ;'ain Office II< of thed# headed by Siktor 8rack. It was the decision-
making agency for all aspects of the @euthanasiaA
and subse(uent ktion ,einhard policies. lthough8ouhler was titular head of the whole operation# infact he had little to with it unless his authority was
needed in dealing with other go&ernment agencies.
8randt dealt only with the medical aspect of theoperation# and continued to run his medical practice.Heinrich Mammers was head of the
,eichChancellery and constantly carped about the lack of a legally proclaimed decree for @euthanasiaA#
something Hitler absolutely refused to do. 'artin
8ormann# head of the arty Chancellery# was keptwell away from @euthanasiaA matters because it was
well-known at the d that in his hands “euthanasiawould not sto# at ental #atients.” He was
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displeased at being e*cluded because his brother lbert worked for the d and was also one of
Hitlers adutants. 8racks deputy was 7erner
8lankenburgJ Hefelmann was the leading light at thedf for childrens @euthanasiaA. ll the d staff
in&ol&ed in @euthanasiaA took the ob on in additionto their normal functions# and all were completelyimmersed in the business of murder.
Siktor 8rack 7erner 8lankenburg
Indi&iduals recruited for the proect were asked if
they were prepared to participate. $one werecoerced. 0octors were ne&er ordered to kill
psychiatric patients and handicapped children.
Howe&er# all participants were re(uired to confirm#
by one means or another# their understanding of thenecessity to maintain absolute secrecy. /ome were
told that a @@euthanasiaAA law e*isted# but could not
be shown to them for the same reason of secrecy.ew of those approached declined an in&itation to
become in&ol&ed. It was possible to refuse to
participate in killing# or to end oneQs participation# assome did. /o far as is known# nobody was e*ecuted
or sent to a concentration camp for doing so. ll the
! staff were initially inter&iewed by 8rack or 8lankenburg# @e&en down to the tea-ladies.A !he
recruitment of 0ieter llers may be regarded as
typical. In 1939# llers# a young lawyer# was sent to
oland as an army training sergeant. In $o&ember 19B# his mother met 8lankenburg in the street and
when she told him that her son was in the army#
8lankenburg offered to gi&e him a ob at the dand arranged for his discharge from the military. In
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6anuary 191# llers was appointed managingdirector of ! by 8rack. @ind men with courage to
implementA# and @ner&es to endureA was mentioned
in a speech by 8rack on =3 pril 191.6udging from their backgrounds# the maority of
lower echelon staff recruited to the program were of a&erage intelligence with a basic standard of education. !hey lacked the attributes or inclination
to become members of the // or the police. !he
o&erall impression obtained from their personnel
backgrounds was that they were initially surprised at being selected as none had applied to oin !J they
were summoned and had no idea why# nor what they
would be doing. !hey were mostly employed at obssuch as doormen# telephone operators# and general
handymen and were gradually in&eigled into the
actual killing process. !here were# of course#e*ceptions to whom killing came naturally# but in
general the d# through their representati&e
Christian 7irth# bred a team of specialist murdererswho could kill without any (ualms of conscience or#
if they were troubled# continued to kill anyway. !he
later hands-on# practical killers of +uropean 6ewry
came predominantly from this @euthanasiaA cadre of Rordinary menQ> chefs# carpenters# dri&ers# plumbers#
photographers# and nurses.
8us used to transport &ictims
+&en before the issue of the edict# the killing of olish patients had begun in what were to become
the incorporated territories of 0an%ig-7est russia
and the ;arthegau# as well as that of 5erman patients in omerania and +ast russia. !he units
in&ol&ed were the +imann commando# Einsatzkoando 1T and the /elbstschut% ;a paramilitary organi%ation of olksdeutsche
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7est-russia ;today# woods close to the iasnica)i&er# near 7eherowo
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/moking Chimney at Hadamar
0uring the first two years of the war# the@@euthanasiaAA programme in the ,eich entered four distincti&e but o&erlapping phases# relating
se(uentially to the killing of infants# adults#institutionalised 6ews and concentration camp
prisoners. == -= special wards were established in
hospitals throughout the country for the murder of
children. In time# this programme was e*tended frominfants to older children# and in some cases e&en to
teenagers. 8y the end of the war# appro*imately
4#BBB children had been killed. &isitor to the )eichCommittee institution at +glfing-Haar described the
cynicism with which the director# 0r Hermann
fannm:ller# boasted of his methods# openlyadmitting that among the children to be murdered
were some who were not mentally ill. !hey were
simply the children of 6ewish parents. “No ews areallowed in y institution” fannm:ller proudlydeclared.
!he strategy for adult @euthanasiaA was much more
comprehensi&e. !he Interior 'inistry had issued
another decree on =1 /eptember 1939# re(uiringmedical facilities to complete a (uestionnaire in
respect of all patients who ;a< suffered from ane*tensi&e list of medical conditions and were unable
to workJ or ;b< had been institutionali%ed for more
than fi&e yearsJ or ;c< had been committed as
criminally insane> or ;d< were non-RryanQ. s withchildren# whether or not an indi&idual was
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condemned to die was supposedly decided by a panel of physicians. !hat was by no means always
the case. 0r )udolph 8oeckh# head physician of the
asylum at $euendettelsau# protested at the manner inwhich the medical commission had beha&ed at his
establishment> “7 $he coission did not e*aineone single #atient out of the
nefarious plan# although there was often a
dis(uieting acceptance of the principle in&ol&ed.7hen approached to become head of the childrenQs
@euthanasiaA programme at +glfing-Haar by the
aforementioned fannm:ller# 0r riedrich HNl%eldeclined# writing> “7 It is one thing to a##ro%e of easures of the state with full con%iction! and another to carry the out oneself in their final consequences. I a reinded of the difference whiche*ists between a ?udge and an e*ecutioner7” 8ut ingeneral# the medical establishment was deeply
implicated in the @euthanasiaA programme. Heinrich8unke ga&e the following e*planation for accepting
the in&itation to oin ! as a physician > " It #ro%ided the o##ortunity to collaborate with e*#erienced
#rofessors! to do scientific work! and to co#lete yeducation Busbildung.&
!- +uthanasia program personnel at a socialgathering
8y the late 193Bs# the regional health departments
and administrators of the psychiatric institutions had
been completely taken o&er by arty officials who
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used their political affiliation to browbeat those whoremained non-political. 0uring the ! @euthanasiaA
phase at the +ichberg Institution - which also
pro&ided &ictims for the Hadamar killing centre - 0r 7alter /chmidt# a fanatical $a%i bureaucrat# strutted
around in // uniform with pistol at his sidesuper&ising the daily murder of patients. /chmidt#described by one male nurse as a “hothead and #sycho#ath!” ga&e orders to his nurses to shoot deadany patient who attempted to escape. !he non-
medical middle managers# often recruited from the police# were moti&ated by personal considerations of
ad&ancement and ideological commitmentJ they
were the arbiters of life and death. Gnlike the children# who had been murdered in the
main by lethal doses of medication or star&ation# the
much greater number of adults to be li(uidateddemanded a more efficient killing system. ollowing
0r 7idmannQs e*pert ad&ice and the e*perience
gained at osen# it was decided to use bottled carbonmono*ide in stationary gas chambers situated in si*
killing centres - 5rafeneck# 8randenburg# 8ernburg#
Hadamar# Hartheim and irna-/onnenstein ;only
four of which were in operation at any gi&en time.<
Each illing centre was assigned a code that was
to be used in all telephone conversations and
written communications with the !" central
o##ices:"" was assigned to 5rafeneck# "8" to 8randenburg#
"C" to Hartheim# "0" to /onnenstein# "8e" to8ernburg and "+" to Hadamar.
n e*perimental gassing was carried out at the
former 8randenburg-Ha&el prison in either
0ecember 1939 or at the beginning of 6anuary 19B.mong those present were 0rs Horst /chumann
;later director of 5rafeneck and then /onnenstein#
subse(uently notorious for his medical e*perimentson prisoners at uschwit%
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inections# but when the poison had little immediateeffect# these inmates were also gassed. !he
e*periment was considered a success.
1ekrat # was created to ship the &ictims by bus to thekilling centres. fleet of buses ;usually three at each
killing centre< was hired from the )eich ost Office.!he 1ekrat bus dri&ers were all //-$COs recruitedfrom the concentration camps. !he gas was supplied
by the Mudwigshafen plant of I 5 arben ;today
/adische nilinund 'odafabriken0 /'-) to thed# who traded under the name @6ennerweinA;8rack< and @8rennerA ;8lankenburg
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similar killing method applied in all of the centres.t his trial at $:rnberg# Siktor 8rack had described
the simple design of the gas chambers 0 &No s#ecial gas chabers were built. roo suitable in the #lanning of the hos#ital was used! a roo attached
to the rece#tion ward.... $hat was ade into a gaschaber. It was sealed! it was gi%en s#ecial doorsand windows! and then a few etres of gas #i#ewere laid! soe kind of #i#e with holes in it. Hutsideof this roo there was a bottle! a co#ressed bottle!with the necessary a##aratus! necessaryinstruents! a #ressure gauge! etc.& pparently# itwas 8ouhler who suggested that the gas chamber at
8randenburg should be disguised as a shower room#a deception that was to become a common feature of
$a%i killing centres.!he gas chambers were
appro*imately 3m * 4m * 3m high. 8enches linedthe walls# hiding a 3cm perforated pipe that encircled
the chamber. Gsually in batches of B-TB at a time#
the patients were told they were to enter this"inhalation room" for therapeutic reasons.
!roublesome or resistant patients were sedated or
manhandled into the chamber by brute force.
Initially# in accordance with orders from the d# thegassing apparatus was operated by the medical
director at each @@euthanasiaAA institution# who
became known as the ergasungsarzt ;gassing
doctor.< 7ithin 4 minutes# the &ictims wereunconscious# and within 1B to 14 minutes# all were
dead. fter a wait of appro*imately 1 hour# thechamber was &entilated and the bodies were
transferred either to the autopsy room or to the
crematorium for incineration. rior to cremation#
howe&er# the bodies were plundered. 5old-filledteeth and dental bridges were broken from the
corpses mouths for smelting. Organs# especially
fresh brains# were collected at autopsies. !he brainswere processed by the aiser-7ilhelm-Institute of
$eurological )esearch in 8erlin and the aiser-
7ilhelm-Institute of sychiatry in 'unich ;today the'a*-lanck-Institutes
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academic credit for their efforts.s in the death camps which were to follow# the
logistical problems of burning the bodies far
outweighed the relati&ely simple killing method.8etween two and eight bodies were cremated at a
time. fter cremation# residual bone was crushed inmills or by mallets on specially constructedworktables. +ach killing centre had a so-called
special registry office# from where a standard
falsified death certificate and letter of condolence
were sent to &ictimQs ne*t-of-kin.
riedrich 'ennecke# a +uthanasia
rogram physician who was responsible
for sending many patients to be gassed.
list of causes that could e*plain a sudden natural
death was a&ailable. )elati&es were informed that ithad been necessary to cremate the body for public
health reasonsJ the ashes of the deceased were
a&ailable upon re(uest. $a%i functionaries and5erman bureaucrats were stereotypically precise and
efficient when it came to keeping records about massmurder. Originals or copies of all paperwork
generated by the killing program were retained#including record books and lists for internal ! use#
correspondence with outsiders# and the medical
records of the killed patients. !o organi%e the paperwork# each killing centre kept a death book
;'terbebuch
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patients ; 9rankenbuch
“In any hos#itals and nursing hoes of the ,eichthere are countless #eo#le with incurable diseases of e%ery kind! #eo#le who are of no use at all to the rest of huanity! who are only a burden on society!incurring endless costs for their aintenance! andthere is absolutely no #ros#ect of these #eo#le e%erreco%ering and becoing useful ebers of societyagain. $hey sit and %egetate like anials! they are social isfits undeser%ing of life K and yet #hysically
they are #erfectly healthy huan beings who aywell li%e on for any ore years. $hey eat the foodthat could be gi%en to others! and in any cases theyneed twice or three ties as uch nursing care. $herest of society needs to be #rotected against these #eo#le. 1i%en that we need to ake #ro%ision now for kee#ing healthy #eo#le ali%e! it is all the orenecessary to get rid of these creatures first! e%en ifonly to take better care for now of the curable #atients in our hos#itals and nursing hoes. $he s#ace thus freed u# is needed for all kinds of things
essential to the war effort0 ilitary hos#itals!ci%ilian hos#itals and au*iliary hos#itals.”On 9 October 1939# a meeting of the organisers of the programme had been held# at which a formula
was presented by which the number of future
potential ,eich @euthanasiaA &ictims could becalculated. !he basis of the calculation was the ratio1#BBB>1B>4>1# meaning that for e&ery 1#BBB of the
population# ten would re(uire psychiatric treatment.
Of those re(uiring treatment# fi&e would recei&e thisas in-patients# and one of those in-patients would fall
within the scope of the programme. !hat is to say#
one in e&ery 1#BBB of the population would besubect to @@euthanasiaA.A pplying this ratio to the
population of the ,eich as a whole resulted in anaggregate figure of T4#BBB -B#BBB potential &ictims.!his figure pro&ed to be an under-estimate. In 19=#
the statistician +dmund 8randt ;one of many
bureaucrats to find employment with the post-war
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7est 5erman go&ernment< prepared an analysisentitled @7hat has so far been accomplished by the
&arious institutions in terms of disinfectionA
!he @institutionsA were the si* principle killingcentres ;it has been estimated that there were more
than 1BB such establishments o&erall.<@0isinfectionA was a code word for murder. 8y8randtQs calculations# between 6anuary 19B and
ugust 191# when the killings were officially
suspended# precisely B#=3 patients had been
murdered by gassing. 8randt went on to calculate thesa&ings made in food# clothing and accommodation
on the assumption that those murdered had been
allowed to sur&i&e for a further ten years. 8ased onthe a&erage daily needs for an institutional inmate#
he estimated that the killing of these sick persons#
incapable of labour P @useless mouthsA in $a%iterminology P would yield precisely 4#39#BB
)eichsmarks in sa&ings by 1941. It has been
calculated that as many as 33U of the beds occupied by the mentally sick in the pre-war period had been
made a&ailable through @euthanasia.A
Irmgard Huber# chief nurse at Hadamar
t least =B#BBB further &ictims had been killed by
that time by means of lethal inection. In fact# despitea pause# the killing in &arious guises continued until
the end of the war. /o far as children were
concerned# it ne&er stopped at all. /ome sources
suggest that the taken together# the total number of
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&ictims of the @@euthanasiaAA programme may ha&ereached 1TB#BBB. Indeed# a figure as high as =BB#BBB
has been (uoted by some historians. In short# what
had been concei&ed by the eugenicists as thee*termination of the medically incurable# concluded
with the killing of those who# for whate&er reason#were either unable to contribute to the economic well being of the ,eich# or were considered undesirable# politically or racially.
Initially no distinction was made between 6ewish
and non-6ewish adult patients. 8ut in pril 19Blocal health authorities were re(uired to pro&ide
details of all 6ewish patients within their
urisdictions. 8eginning in 6anuary 19B# these6ewish patients were transferred to the killing centres
and gassed. Mudwig "Israel" le*ander was the first
person and the only 6ew listed on the +glfing-Haar transport list of twenty-fi&e men destined for
5rafeneck on 1 6anuary 19B. !he name "Israel#"
which all male 6ews were forced to take on after 16anuary 1939# indicates that le*ander was
considered 6ewish under the $:rnberg racial laws.
le*ander was thus probably the first handicapped
6ewish patient murdered in the gas chamber of a@@euthanasiaAA killing centre.
rom 191 6ewish patients were sent to the
1eneralgou%erneent # and there either shot or killed
in gas &ans. In reply to en(uiries from the families of the murdered# 1ekrat stated that the &ictims gassedin 8randenburg or li(uidated in oland had been sentto an asylum in Chelm ;sometimes referred to as
@CholmA
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they were 6ews.
star&ed sur&i&or sits up in bed atHadamar
!he fourth manifestation of @@euthanasiaAA was the
so-called “ktion
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@@euthanasiaAA programme had become widespread#in part because the killings were taking place on
5erman soil. !he $a%is were (uick to learn the
lesson. uture killing centres would be establishedfar away# where possible in isolated areas. ware of
growing public dis(uiet# and in the wake of e*plicitsermons preached by a number of churchmen# in particular 8ishop Clemens ugust 5raf &on 5alen of
':nster# on = ugust 191# Hitler ordered the
suspension of adult @@euthanasiaAA. 8ut childrenQs
@@euthanasiaAA# ktion
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!he last child killed by the head
nurse at the aufbeuren-Irseeeuthanasia facility
!he e*tent to which the medical profession had
rationalised their homicidal beha&iour is perhaps
best illustrated by the testimony of defendants attheir post-war $:rnberg trial. Salentin altlhauser
insisted that# for him# “the decisi%e oti%e wasco#assion.” aediatrician +rnst 7ent%ler stated ! “I had the feeling that y acti%ity was soething #ositi%e! and that I had ade a sall contribution tohuan #rogress.” arl 8randt affirmed thefollowing>
“+o you think it was a #leasure for e to recei%e theorder to #erit “euthanasia”M -or fifteen years Ihad toiled at the sickbed and e%ery #atient was to elike a brother. I worried about e%ery sick child as ifit had been y own...I fully realize the #roble it isas old as ankind! but it is not a crie against an
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nor huanity. It is #ity for the incurable! literally. 3ere I cannot belie%e like a clergyan or think as a ?urist. I a a doctor! and I see the law of nature asbeing the law of reason. In y heart there is a lo%eof ankind! and so it is in y conscience. $hat is
why I a a doctor...+eath can ean deli%erance. +eath is life " ?ust as uch as birth. It was ne%ereant to be urder.” !he courts were not fooled by this apparent display
of contrition. !elford !aylor# chief of counsel for the
prosecution at $:rnberg# described the prominent physicians who were tried and con&icted of murder
in the following terms>
“$he defendants...are charged with urder! torturesand other atrocities coitted in the nae of edical science...B$hey did not kill in hot blood!
nor for #ersonal enrichent...they are not all #er%erts. $hey are not ignorant en. 8ost of theare trained #hysicians and soe of the aredistinguished scientists. $he #er%erse thoughts and distorted conce#ts which brought about these sa%ageries are not dead. $hey cannot be killed by force of ars. $hey ust not becoe a s#reading cancer in the breast of huanity. $hey ust be cut out and e*#osed.”@+uthanasiaA was &ital to the de&elopment of $a%i
genocidal policy. It pa&ed the way both in method
and personnel. 8ottled carbon mono*ide wasreplaced by petroleum engine e*haust fumes and
hydrocyanic acid. olish killing centres succeededtheir 5erman and ustrian counterparts. Sictims
were deli&ered from e&ery part of occupied +urope
instead of merely from the ,eich. $ot the leastsignificant aspect of the @euthanasiaA programmewas the indication it pro&ided# both to Hitler# as well
as to go&ernment and arty leaders# of ust how
much could be achie&ed behind the mask of RofficialsecrecyQ. nd most importantly# ! supplied the
kernel of professional killers who were to undertake
ktion ,einhard in oland.!hese men were long term e*ponents of the
physical process of murder and the disposal of
corpses. /ome had been recruited because they wereconsidered ideologically reliable# or were
recommended by a relati&e or friend. Others began
their careers in the concentration camps or the
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police.
/taff from the Hadamar euthanasia center during
their trial. 7iesbaden# 5ermany# October -14# 194
ll (uickly became desensiti%ed killers# rapidlydescending into a criminal nightmare of sadistic
brutality and death. lmost 1BB of them were madea&ailable to Odilo 5lobocnik in Mublin to operate thegas chambers of 8el%ec# /obibor and !reblinka.
7hen the time arri&ed and the final decision had
been made to implement the 6ewish genocide# thed was able to draw upon the e*perience and
technical support of ! personnel to carry their plans
through to completion
8ut as a number of eminent historians ha&e pointedout# the symbiosis between @@euthanasiaAA and the
Rinal /olutionQ went beyond these ob&ious
connections. illing the handicapped and the 6ewswere two sides of the same coin. !he former action
was intended to remo&e from the 5erman race its
@imperfectionsAJ the latter was designed to destroy $a%ismQs greatest percei&ed enemy.
!he dual functions were inseparable# two essential
aspects of what Hitler liked to call his
;eltanschauung # his @world &iew.A 7here that@world &iewA was to lead will be e*amined in the
following pages.
http>??www.holocaustresearchproect.org?euthan?
!he 5erman e*periment with euthanasia pro&ides salutary lessons for the debate in theearly =1st century.
0uring the $a%is !- programme# an estimated =4B#BBB-34B#BBB 5ermans were put to
death. It is not commonly known that the gas chamber technology used by the $a%is in
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the war years was de&eloped when the large number of adult and child euthanasia cases
re(uired more efficient means than narcotics and star&ation. 5as chambers were# in many
cases# constructed on hospital grounds.
!he killing ended with the surrender in 'ay# 194 and the leading doctors were put on
trial at the $uremberg 7ar Crimes !rials.
Meo le*ander# an merican psychiatrist# was a consultant to the /ecretary of 7ar and
ser&ing with the office of the Chief Counsel for 7ar Crimes in $uremberg during 19Tand 19.
In his "'edical /cience under 0ictatorship"# published in the $ew +ngland 6ournal of
'edicine# 6uly# 199# 0r le*ander obser&ed>
"7hate&er proportions these crimes finally assumed# it became e&ident to all who
in&estigated them# that they started from small beginnings. !he beginnings at first were
merely a subtle shift in emphasis in the basic attitudes of physicians.
"It started with the acceptance of the attitude# basic to the euthanasia mo&ement# thatthere is such a thing as a life not worthy to be li&ed. !his attitude in its early stages
concerned itself merely with the se&erely and chronically sick.
"5radually the sphere of those to be included in this category was enlarged to encompass
the socially unproducti&e# the ideologically unwanted# the racially unwanted# and finally
all non-5ermans."
$!he small beginnings$
8y the end of the nineteenth century in 5ermany# scattered &oices could be heard calling
for euthanasia in the name of personal choice and mercy# using arguments identical tothose heard today.
!he e*traordinarily high death rate from mass star&ation in 5erman mental hospitalsduring 7orld 7ar I# was an early warning signs of the deadly shift official attitudes could
take toward the mentally ill when resources were strained.
8efore dolf Hitler came to power and issued the e*ecuti&e order for the !- programmeto be implemented# the ideological ground had been thoroughly prepared.
Kears before in 19=B# two eminent 5erman academics> arl 8inding# a law professor andlfred Hoche# a doctor# published their seminal work> "ermission to 0estroy Mife
Gnworthy of Mife".
!hey argued that first it was acceptable for an outside agency to define what indi&idual
life was worthless# and second that in effect# an indi&idual had to ustify his e*istence
according to criteria imposed from outside. !his means pro&ing to the agency that ones
life was worthwhile
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!wo cultural factors uni(ue to 5ermany at the time# ensured that the book had immediate
influence in the medical establishment and the social sciences. !hese factors were theethos of social 0arwinism and eugenics.
/ocial 0arwinists applied Charles 0arwins theories of natural selection to human society./ocial progress depended on the fittest and most powerful sur&i&ing and the weakest
elements being culled to pre&ent infecting their betters.
+ugenics en&isaged a hierarchy of human beings# the lower le&els being the mentally
handicapped and the disabled.
8inding and Hoche set out to undermine the Hippocratic Oath tradition. !hey argued that
the criteria for medical practice should be utilitarian. eople were &aluable in terms of
their contribution to society. !heir "(uality of life" should be the determining factor inmedical treatment.
In contrast# the Hippocratic Oath assumed that an indi&idual did not ha&e to pro&e their
worth. !he sanctity and &alue of each indi&idual human person was sacrosanct.
8inding and Hoche placed people in categories and deemed that certain indi&iduals were
"unworthy" of life> those with terminal illnesses# the disabled ;including children< and the
mentally ill.
!here were two benefits for 5erman society if these categories could be eliminated>
racial purity and re-directing medical resources and funds to those "worthy" of support.
/uch sentiments were readily accepted by influential doctors# the intelligentsia and soon
wider 5erman society. !en years after the publication of 8ein 9a#f # 4 percent of5erman doctors had oined the $a%i party. !hus when the $a%is came to power in 1933#determined to create a new ryan 'aster )ace# many 5ermans were ready to be
persuaded on the merits of "merciful" euthanasia.
!he legalisation of &oluntary euthanasia was a $a%i priority and the public weresupposed to be reassured by a raft of safeguards. Howe&er the proposals were &igorously
opposed by the churches and the $a%is retreated to wait for a more opportune time.
7ithin si* months# "Heredity Health Courts" were established to sterili%e those in the
targeted categories. n estimated 34B#BBB 5ermans were sterilised under this programme#
until 'ay# 194.
%ropaganda used to persuade
ropaganda minister 6oseph 5oebbels# marshalled the resources of the state-controlled
media to persuade 5ermans that euthanasia was a humane social policy# the foundation
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for building the 'aster )ace. 5raphic pictures portrayed mentally ill and disabled
"subhumans" in a series of powerful and popular films# to reinforce the message.
In the popular film "I ccuse"# an attracti&e woman suffering from multiple sclerosis was
gently killed by her lo&ing husband.
5erman school children studied maths problems and calculated how many ser&ices# how
much bread# am# and other necessities of life could be sa&ed by killing people - the
chronically sick and crippled - who were a "drain on society."
!he Hippocratic &ath replaced
8efore 1933# e&ery 5erman doctor took the Hippocratic Oath# with its famous "do no
harm" clause. !he Oath re(uired that a doctors first duty is to his patient.
!he $a%is replaced the Hippocratic Oath with the 5esundheit# an oath to the health of the
$a%i state. !hus a 5erman doctors first duty was now to promote the interests of the
)eich.
'n#anticide: the #irst legal illings
Once 5erman doctors accepted social eugenics# the forcible sterilisation of the "unfit"
became widespread. !he ne*t step was infanticide# which re(uired the willing
cooperation of doctors and midwi&es# who reported e&ery birth of a child with disabilitiesto the authorities.
!he child was sent to an institution - supposedly for treatment. brief report on the child
was then sent to 8erlin where three doctors udged the child# in almost e&ery case to be"unworthy of life." fter killing the child ;with the usual cause of death listed as
pneumonia Nazis :lan to 9ill Incurables to End :ain 1eran ,eligious 1rou#s H##ose 8o%e -ssociated ress
8+)MI$# Oct.# 1933> !he 'inistry of 6ustice in a detailed memorandum e*plaining the
$a%i aims regarding the 5erman penal code# today announced its intention to authori%e
physicians to end the sufferings of incurable patients.
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!he memorandum# still lacking the force of law# proposed that "it shall be made possible
for physicians to end the tortures of incurable patients upon re(uest# in the interests of
true humanity."
!his proposed legal recognition of euthanasia the act of pro&iding a painless and
peaceful death raised a number of fundamental problems of a religious# scientific andlegal nature.
!he Catholic newspaper 5ermania# hastened to obser&e>
&$he Jatholic faith binds the conscience of its followers not to acce#t this ethod of shortening the suffering of incurables who are torented by #ain.&
In Mutheran circles# too# life is regarded as something that 5od alone can take.
large section of the 5erman people# it was e*pected in some interested circles# might
ignore the pro&isions for euthanasia# which o&ernight has become a widely-discussed
word in the )eich.
In medical circles the main (uestion was raised as to ust when a man is incurable andwhen his life should be ended.
ccording to the present plans of the 'inistry of 6ustice# incurability would bedetermined not only by the attending physician# but also by two official doctors who
would carefully trace the history of the case and personally e*amine the patient.
In insisting that euthanasia shall be permissible only if the accredited attending physicianis backed by two e*perts who so ad&iseJ the 'inistry belie&es a guarantee is gi&en that no
life still &aluable to the /tate# will be wantonly destroyed.
!he legal (uestion of who may re(uest the application of euthanasia has not been
definitely sol&ed.
!he 'inistry merely has proposed that either the patient himself shall "e*pressly and
earnestly" ask it# or "in case the patient no longer is able to e*press his desire# his nearer
relati&es# acting from moti&es that do not contra&ene morals# so re(uest." ;/ource - $ew
Kork !imes# /unday# October # 1933<
!he !+" Euthanasia programme implemented
ccording to Meo le*ander '0# the sterilisation and euthanasia of persons with chronicmental illness was discussed at a meeting of 8a&arian psychiatrists in 1931.
8y 193T# ideas for e*terminating the physically or socially unfit# were openly ad&ocated
in an article published in an official 5erman medical ournal.
le*ander commented> "It is rather significant that the 5erman people were considered
by their $a%i leaders# more ready to accept the e*termination of the sick# than those for
political reasons. It was for that reason the that the first e*terminations of the later
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;political< group# were carried out under the guise of sickness."
Hitler issued the secret directi&e to begin !- in late October 1939. !he programme wasdesignated a state secret# with the families of the deceased recei&ing falsified death
certificates. !he killings took place at con&erted hospitals when the &ictims entered the
"showers".
In the beginning# the categories of those to be killed were scrupulously defined# but as
time went on human nature pre&ailed. neuropathologist# 0r Hallen&orden# ga&e 0rle*ander a first-hand account of how the selection process e&ol&ed>
&8ost institutions did not ha%e enough #hysicians and what #hysicians there were! wereeither too busy or did not care. $hey delegated the selection to the nurses and theattendants. ;hoe%er looked sick! or was otherwise a #roble was #ut on a list andtrans#orted to the killing centre (to be gassed with Gyclon / in the FshowersF).&
"!he worst thing about this business was that it produced a certain brutalisation of the
nursing personnel. !hey got to simply picking out those whom they did not like# and thedoctors had so many patients that they did not know them# and simply put their names on
the list."
5erman citi%ens grew increasingly uneasy about the secret !- programme. )umours
(uickly spread about the black &ans transporting the &ictims to the si* speciallydesignated "hospitals". !he &ans known as "ra&ens" inspired dread. eople could hardly
a&oid drawing their own conclusions when columns of smoke would later issue from the
hospital chimney.
ublic concern was monitored by the 5estapo. Hitler and Heinrich Himmler were
enraged when the popular rchbishop &on 5alen# repeatedly and openly condemned the
!- programme from his pulpit.
On ugust =th# 191# Hitler ga&e &erbal instructions to 0r arl 8randt to stop the
euthanasia programme# with the pro&iso that infanticide be continued.
0espite the official ban# 5erman doctors carried on much as before# using mainly lethal
inections in the so-called hospitals. s the war progressed# seriously wounded 7ermacht
soldiers were routinely euthanised.
!ermed "wild euthanasia"# it was halted only by the llied Occupation. !here was a case
of merican infantry disco&ering a euthanasia hospital in 8a&aria# still fully functioningwith the medical staff at their posts. !he outraged soldiers were only ust pre&ented from
shooting them on the spot.
$ew Vealand doctor# 6.+. Caughey met one of the leading $a%i doctors in 193. He
wrote an article "How 'ercy illing +*panded"# published in !he /outhland !imes# 6uly
1B# 194. It was included in a later article "+uthanasia and the 5rowth of a 0eath
Culture"# by $yall aris# a teacher at /outhland 8oys /chool# In&ercargill. )ead more
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here
$'nto that arness: #rom mercy illing to mass murder$ uni(ue insight into the $a%i euthanasia programme was published in 8ritain in 19.
"Into that 0arkness> from mercy killing to mass murder" by ournalist 5itta /ereny# was
built around se&enty inter&iews with ran% /tangl# former commandant of the !reblinkae*termination camp in eastern oland.
/tangl had earlier worked at one of the "institutes" in Hitlers +uthanasia programme. In19B# many of the key figures in the programme were still ali&e and consented to be
inter&iewed by /ereny# lea&ing for posterity first-hand accounts of what really happened.
!"-s administration
!he head(uarters of ! was a &illa at !iergartenstrasse in an e*clusi&e 8erlin suburb. It
was the ner&e centre for the most secret operation in $a%i 5ermany# the "mercy killing"
of the mentally and physically handicapped in 5ermany and ustria. Mater# it became the
administrati&e hub for the "inal /olution"> the e*termination of the 6ews.
!he planning and orders came from the uhrer Chancellery# which administered Hitlers pri&ate affairs and enabled ! to function in secrecy.
.ran* Stangl
His story is that of a decent man# who gradually becomes morally corrupted. n ustrian
detecti&e happily married to a de&out Catholic and strongly anti-$a%i wife. +noying
steady promotion in Min%# he was assigned to 8erlin in $o&ember 19B. rri&ing at !#
he was informed that his new role was to be police superintendent in a special institute#o&erseeing security and ensuring that the safeguards for the patients were strictly adhered
to.
!he Sa#eguards e/plained
/tangl was told that for many years )ussia and merica had legalised euthanasia on the
se&erely insane and deformed. 5ermany was going to pass a similar law in the nearfuture# but to protect the sensibilities of the population# the mercy killing was going to be
carried out slowly and after much psychological preparation. 8ut meantime# absolute
secrecy was necessary.
!he only patients affected were those who after the most careful e*amination a series of
four tests carried out by at least two physicians were considered incurable. painless
death would be a merciful release from an intolerable e*istence.
!he 0eality
Careful medical e*aminations in mental institutions by tra&elling doctors were rare. !staff simply sent out a (uestionnaire to all institutions ;under the prete*t of economic
planning life or death.
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%arental authorisation #raud
It has been claimed that parents ga&e such authority# but they were &ictims of a ruse.arents were informed that ele&en /pecial /ections were being established throughout
5ermany# where the children could recei&e ad&anced treatment to assist their reco&ery.
arents signed the authorisations in good faith# unaware that their children would bekilled by lethal inection.
Stangl at Schloss Hartheim
!he former small hospital was now a special institute. atients arri&ed in &ans and were
immediately gi&en a cursory e*amination. !he process was e*plained to /tangl> "!he
people must not be allowed to realise that they are going to die. !hey ha&e to feel at ease.
$othing must be done to frighten them." Gsually# within an hour# the patients weregassed. /tangl arranged the paperwork and for their personal effects# along with the urn
of ashes to be sent to the families. bogus cause of death was put on the death certificate.
%ublic nowledgen official letter from rankfurt in 'ay 191# ad&ised the 'inister of 6ustice that the
"institute" at Hadamar was public knowledge. Children followed the blacked-out busesand &ans# shouting "Heres more coming to be gassedL". Corpses enter the furnace on a
con&eyor belt and the smoke from the crematorium is &isible for miles. !he medical staff
drink to obli&ion in the nearby 5asthof and the regular customers take care to a&oid them.
!hroughout 19B and early 191# there were public protests by some rotestant and
Catholic pastors and bishops. 8ishop &on 5alen preached his famous sermon in 'unster
on ugust 3rd 191.
8ishop &on 5alens sermon was printed on flyers which were dropped o&er 5ermany by
) planes.
Hitlers train was held up near $uremberg# by mental patients being loaded onto trucks.
n outraged crowd had gathered and on sighting Hitler# eered him. On ugust =th#191# Hitler &erbally ad&ised 0r arl 8randt to stop the euthanasia programme.
5itta /ereny inter&iewed 0ieter llers# a lawyer# who in 0ecember19B# was appointed
chief administrati&e officer of !. He confided that his superiors had specifically statedthat the programme was e*pected to be completed by late 6uly 191.
!his infers that the protests had negligible effect# as the programme had effecti&ely metits targets. !hey had killed all those who they intended to kill.
Hitler-s intentions
0r arl 8randt# )eichskommissar for Health and Hitlers personal doctor ;condemned to
death in ugust# 19
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the e*pected resistance.
!he Euthanasia continues
!he ! programme officially closed down. 8ut euthanasia continued from $o&ember
191 to 194# under the code name "1 f 13"# which was the title of the forms used to
establish "eligibility". !he &ictims were concentration camp prisoners# politicals#"habitual" criminals and 6ews# who were all classified as incurably insane and gassed.
!he centres that remained open for "1 f 13"# were 8ernburg and Hartheim.
(uremburg
4 percent of $a%is who faced trials for crimes against people with mental disabilities
were ac(uitted# compared with ust = percent of those accused of crimes against 6ews.Of those found guilty# less than two percent recei&ed life sentences# compared with 11
percent for killing 6ews.
!he mentally handicapped were seen as a burden on society and so udges# and especiallylay udges# did not consider their murders to be as great a crime. $one of those who were
gi&en life sentences for murdering people with mental disabilities were actually made toser&e their time.
http>??www.life.org.n%?euthanasia?abouteuthanasia?history-euthanasiaT
! rogram# also called ! +uthanasia rogram#
$a%i 5erman effortFframed as a euthanasia programFto kill incurably ill# physically ormentally disabled# emotionally distraught# and elderly people. dolf Hitler initiated this
program in 1939# and# while it was officially discontinued in 191# killings continued
co&ertly until the military defeat of $a%i 5ermany in 194.D'+0I-/!)IED+$0-1/!-)E
In October 1939# dolf Hitler empowered his personal physician and the chief of the
Chancellery of the :hrer to kill people considered unsuited to li&e. He backdated hisorder to /eptember 1# 1939# the day 7orld 7ar II began# to gi&e it the appearance of a
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wartime measure. In this directi&e# 0r. arl 8randt and Chancellery chief hilipp
8ouhler were @charged with responsibility for e*panding the authority of physiciansWso
that patients considered incurable# according to the best a&ailable human udgment oftheir state of health# can be granted a mercy killing.A
7ithin a few months# the ! rogramFnamed for the Chancellery offices that directed it
from the 8erlin address !iergartenstrasse Fin&ol&ed &irtually the entire 5erman psychiatric community. new bureaucracy# headed by physicians# was established with a
mandate to kill anyone deemed to ha&e a @life unworthy of li&ing.A /ome physicians
acti&e in the study of eugenics# who saw $a%ism as @applied biology#A enthusiasticallyendorsed this program. Howe&er# the criteria for inclusion in this program were not
e*clusi&ely genetic# nor were they necessarily based on infirmity. n important criterion
was economic. $a%i officials assigned people to this program largely based on their
economic producti&ity. !he $a%is referred to the programQs &ictims as @burdensomeli&esA and @useless eaters.A
!he programQs directors ordered a sur&ey of all psychiatric institutions# hospitals# and
homes for chronically ill patients. t !iergartenstrasse # medical e*perts re&iewed forms
sent by institutions throughout 5ermany but did not e*amine patients or read theirmedical records. $e&ertheless# they had the power to decide life or death.
7hile the programQs personnel killed people at first by star&ation and lethal inection#they later chose asphy*iation by poison gas as the preferred killing techni(ue. hysicians
o&ersaw gassings in chambers disguised as showers# using lethal gas pro&ided by
chemists. rogram administrators established gas chambers at si* killing centres in5ermany and ustria> Hartheim# /onnenstein# 5rafeneck# 8ernburg# Hadamar# and
8randenburg. !he // ;$a%i paramilitary corps< staff in charge of the transports donned
white coats to keep up the charade of a medical procedure. rogram staff informed
&ictimsQ families of the transfer to the killing centres. Sisits# howe&er# were not possible.!he relati&es then recei&ed condolence letters# falsified death certificates signed by
physicians# and urns containing ashes.
few doctors protested. /ome refused to fill out the re(uisite forms. !he )omanCatholic church# which had not taken a stand on the @6ewish (uestion#A protested the
@mercy killings.A Count Clemens ugust &on 5alen# the bishop of ':nster# openly
challenged the regime# arguing that it was the duty of Christians to oppose the taking ofhuman life e&en if this cost them their own li&es.
!he transformation of physicians into killers took time and re(uired the appearance of
scientific ustification. /oon after the $a%is came to power# the 8a&arian minister of
health proposed that psychopaths# the mentally retarded# and other @inferiorA people beisolated and killed. @!his policy has already been initiated at our concentration camps#A
he noted. year later# authorities instructed mental institutions throughout the )eich to
@neglectA their patients by withholding food and medical treatment.seudoscientific rationali%ations for the killing of the @unworthyA were bolstered by
economic considerations. ccording to bureaucratic calculations# the state could put
funds that went to the care of criminals and the insane to better useFfor e*ample# inloans to newly married couples. roponents for the program saw incurably sick children
as a burden on the healthy body of the olk # the 5erman people. @7artime is the best timefor the elimination of the incurably ill#A Hitler said.
!he murder of the handicapped was a precursor to the Holocaust. !he killing centres to
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which the handicapped were transported were the antecedents of the e*termination
camps# and their organi%ed transportation foreshadowed mass deportation. /ome of the
physicians who became specialists in the technology of cold-blooded murder in the late193Bs later staffed the death camps. !hey had long since lost all their moral# professional#
and ethical inhibitions.
Mike the 6udenrat ;@6ewish CouncilA< leaders during the Holocaust# psychiatrists wereable to sa&e some patients during the ! rogram# at least temporarily# but only if they
cooperated in sending others to their death. !he handicapped killing centres de&eloped
gas chambers like those later used at e*termination camps. s the e*termination campsdid later# the handicapped killing centres installed o&ens to dispose of dead bodies. !he
death camps that followed took the technology to a new le&el. !he e*termination camps
could kill thousands at one time and burn their bodies within hours.
On ugust =# 191# almost two years after the ! rogram was initiated# it appeared tocease. In fact# it had gone underground and continued co&ertly during the war years.
7hile the program claimed o&er B#BBB &ictims during its two years of open operation#
the killing centres murdered e&en more &ictims between the official conclusion of the
program and the fall of the $a%i regime in 194. !he total number killed under the !rogram# including this co&ert phase# may ha&e reached =BB#BBB or more. !he official
conclusion of the ! rogram in 191 also coincided with the escalation of theHolocaust# the culmination of $a%i programs to eliminate those deemed an
embarrassment to the @master race.A
http>??www.britannica.com?e&ent?!-rogram
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