How were the Mentally and Physically Ill Treated by the

Nazis?

Thu PhanSocial Studies Fair

Sophomore Coach Kelly

Unfit • The mentally and physically disabled were

considered an economic burden to the German people.

• The Nazis believed in the idea of “life unworthy of life.”

Unfit

• Adolf Hitler wanted a racially and genetically pure Aryan race.

• The mentally and physically disabled could not:– Work in war factories– Serve in the military

• Considered “burdensome lives” and “useless eaters”

Imprisonment

• Euthanasia killing centers were installed in concentration camps such as:– Chelmo– Belzec– Sobibor– Treblinka

• Patients were transported from their original institutions to certain concentration camps where they were gasses with carbon monoxide.

Imprisonment Cont.

• The imprisonment and killing was condemned by the Roman Catholic Church.

• Some were imprisoned so they could be experimented on.

• Hadamar was one of the most notorious centers. About 14,000 people died there.

Genetic Experiments

• The mentally and physically impaired were experimented on:– Exposure to phosphorous

bombs– Force ingesting of sea

water– Exposure to various forms

of poison– Exposure to mustard gas– “Twin” experiment

Genetic Experiments cont.• Sterilization was an important factor in

Nazi Germany’s attempt to rid its society of the “unfit”.

• Victims were exposed to radiation so they would be unable to reproduce children.

“Sterilization is liberation, not a punishment.”

Euthanasia Programs• Euthanasia is the practice of medically killing a

person due to a severe medical condition.

• The T4 Program was created to systematically kill mental and physically handicapped patients.

Euthanasia Programs

• The T4 Program was led by Karl Brandt and Phillip Bouhler.

• 200,000 or more people died by the T4 Euthanasia Program.

• It was Nazi Germany’s first initiative of mass murder.

• The technique used in killing the mentally ill were then used to kill Jews a few years later.

Brandt Bouhler

Works Cited

• Berenbaum, Michael. “T4 Euthanasia Program.” Britannica Encyclopedia. Britannica, 2011. Web. 24 February 2011. <www.britannica.com/article00561>

• “Eugenics.” Europe Since 1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of War and Reconstruction. Ed. John Merriman and Jay Winter. Vol. 2. Detroit: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2006. 993-995. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 17 February 2011. < http://www.go.galegroup.com/ retrieve>

• Lifton, Robert J. The Nazi Doctors. New York: Basic Books, 1986.

• U.S. Holocaust Museam. U.S. Holocaust Memorial. Web. 24 February 2011 <http://ww.ushmm.org>

• Wolf, Susan M. “Euthanasia.” World Book Advanced. World Book, 2011. Web. 14 Feb. 2011. <www.worldbookonline.com/euthanasia>