MARIANNE BEGEMANN (1929 – 1941)

Marianne Begemann was born on 3 December 1929 in Esens, Wittmund district, East Frisia. Her father was originally a farmer, but from 1928 onwards he worked as a labourer in a dairy, as the farm had been transferred to his younger brother rather than to him. Her mother suffered from mental illness and from 1934/35 onwards was a patient in various institutions and nursing homes. Marianne was the fourth child and had three brothers.

Marianne came to the Wittmund children’s home at the age of two. She learned to walk, but did not speak and needed help eating and drinking. During an official medical inspection of the children’s home on 14 July 1940, the then eleven-year-old Marianne caught the attention of the inspectors. On the grounds that »the house mother […] is almost entirely occupied by her and does not have enough time left to care for the other children« and due to her impending sexual maturity, the medical officer of the Wittmund district health office dutifully applied for Marianne to be placed in the institutions of the Inner Mission Rotenburg. Her mother refused to have her placed in care and sought to have her child cared for at home. Her father, on the other hand, agreed to the placement. The medical officer followed the father’s recommendation, and Marianne was admitted to the Inner Mission Rotenburg institutions in November.

On 4 January 1941, the medical director at Rotenburg, Magunna, made the first entry in her file: »She makes a completely stupid impression, shows no interest in her surroundings; […]«. In 1941, only 14 words are written about Marianne. There is also a stamp saying »Transferred to Lüneburg on 9 October 1941«.

Marianne fell ill – like most of her fellow patients in Rotenburg – a few weeks after her arrival at the »Children’s ward« in Lüneburg. It is almost certain that Marianne was killed with the drug Luminal. Her father was not informed of his daughter’s serious condition until some time after the onset of the illness, on 17 December 1941. The wording is identical to letters sent to other parents: »Your child [child’s first name] has been ill with a high fever for several days. Given her general frailty, her condition is not without risk«.

On 20 December 1941, Marianne died at the age of twelve. The cause of death was given as »bilateral pulmonary tuberculosis«. Marianne Begemann was buried shortly afterwards in the institution’s cemetery, now known as the North-West Cemetery. Little effort was made to document her grave. In the grave register, she appears as »Marianne Begmann«. The autopsy was also not very precise: in the autopsy report, she is referred to as »Marianne Bergmann«. Only a comparison of her personal data leads to the certainty that she is one and the same person, the child Marianne Begemann.