GÖRDEN

The »children’s ward« at the Görden State Institution opened on 1 July 1940. It was the first »children’s ward« in the Third Reich. However, it is believed to have been operational months before its official opening. There is no information about the ward being closed before the end of the war. Ernst Illing initially took over as director, but was transferred to the »children’s ward« in Vienna in July 1942. He was succeeded by Friederike Pusch.

At least 162 children and adolescents were officially admitted to the Görden »children’s ward«, of whom at least 141 were murdered. In fact, a total of 4,000 children and adolescents were admitted to the Görden State Institution. Approximately 1,270 of the children and adolescents not officially assigned to the Görden »children’s ward« also fell victim to euthanasia. At least 428 of these children and adolescents were transferred from Görden to Brandenburg and Bernburg as part of »Aktion T4« and murdered there by gassing.

The Görden »children’s ward« was also a »Reich training hospital« where doctors responsible for »children’s wards« learned to murder.
In 1946, the director of the Görden State Institution, Hans Heinze, was sentenced to seven years in prison. He was released in 1952. In 1954, he became director of youth psychiatry at the Lower Saxony State Hospital in Wunstorf. Later criminal investigations against Heinze were unsuccessful because he could not be questioned or brought to trial due to medical certificates. Ernst Illing was sentenced to death for his crimes and executed in 1946. Friederike Pusch initially remained at the Görden State Hospital. She later worked as a specialist in neurology and psychiatry in Blankenburg. No investigations were launched against her.