The Marienberg family

It is a black-and-white portrait photograph. Karl Marienberg is wearing a dark suit with a white shirt and striped tie. He is standing upright and looking seriously into the camera. His head is slightly bowed. His hair is slightly longer and combed back.

Karl Marienberg, 1938.

NLA Hanover Hann. 138 Lüneburg Acc. 102/88 No. 1298.

Karl Marienberg was declared unfit for marriage by the health authorities. Because his fiancée already had two illegitimate children, she was in the same situation. The court rejected the forced sterilisation of Karl Marienberg. However, medical officer Hans Rohlfing successfully appealed against this decision. Only after Karl’s sterilisation in November 1938 were the two allowed to marry. Because Berta was already pregnant, they at least had a daughter together.

Interview

It is a black-and-white portrait photograph. Georg Marienberg is wearing a dark suit with a dark shirt and striped tie. He is standing upright and looking seriously into the camera. His hair is cut short and parted.

Georg Marienberg, 1938.

NLA Hannover Hann. 138 Lüneburg Acc. 102/88 No. 1324.

A few weeks after his brother was sterilised, Georg Marienberg was also sterilised against his will. Nevertheless, he was denied permission to marry his fiancée. Instead, his fiancée was to marry a man who was »genetically healthy«. Georg successfully appealed against this decision to the Reich Minister of the Interior.

Thea Marienberg fought against her sterilisation. She almost succeeded thanks to a »certificate of fitness for marriage« issued by the Hamburg Health Authority. This contradicted the decision of the Lüneburg Hereditary Health Court, which was issued on the same day. Because the Hamburg authority withdrew the certificate at the insistence of Hans Rohlfing, her appeal failed. She only received permission to marry after her forced sterilisation.

The decision is typed in small letters on a single sheet of paper. The letter is half a DIN A4 page long. It is slightly yellowed. It has the letterhead of the Hamburg municipal administration. The notification is typed and signed by hand.

Excerpt from the decision of the Lüneburg Hereditary Health Court regarding Thea Marienberg dated 27 February 1940.

NLA Hannover Hann. 138 Lüneburg Acc. 102/88

Letter from the Hamburg Health Authority to the Lüneburg Health Authority regarding Thea Marienberg, dated 27 February 1940.

NLA Hannover Hann. 138 Lüneburg Acc. 102/88 No. 208.

The letter is yellowed. It is half a page long. The letter is typed and signed by hand.

Letter from the Lüneburg Health Authority to the District President dated 13 April 1943.

NLA Hanover Hann. 138 Lüneburg Acc. 102/88 No. 2472.

Emmi Nielson (née Marienberg) refused the operation and resisted by not showing up for her surgery appointment. She was then sought by the police and arrested. For her resistance, she received a six-month prison sentence, which she had to serve in a women’s prison. There was no parole. Immediately after her release from prison, she was forcibly sterilised.

HEINRICH RÖHRUP (1914 – 1941)

Heinrich Friedrich Ludwig Röhrup was born on 30 January 1914 in Wulfstorf in the district of Lüneburg. After leaving school, he initially worked as an errand boy, later as a gardener’s assistant, and finally as a labourer in a limestone quarry. By this time, the family was living on Auf dem Meere street in Lüneburg.

In October 1936, Heinrich Röhrup was called up for military service and joined the navy in Kiel as a rifleman. As he was unable to follow the training programme and twice ignored orders from his superiors, he was sentenced to ten days‘ detention. His superiors admitted him to the naval hospital for examination for »mental illness«. The doctors there determined that he was »in need of institutional care«. As a result, Heinrich was transferred from the Kiel-Wik naval hospital to the Neustadt (Holstein) state hospital on 6 August 1937. There, the doctors applied for him to be sterilised.

Just eight weeks later, it was decided that the then 23-year-old would be sterilised. Because Heinrich’s father arranged for him to be transferred from the Neustadt State Hospital to the Lüneburg Mental Hospital, Heinrich Röhrup was sterilised at the Lüneburg Municipal Hospital on 21 February 1938. On 1 March 1938, he was discharged from the Lüneburg Institution.

The following year, he was admitted to the institution twice more due to »fits of rage«. In addition to the diagnosis of »congenital mental deficiency«, psychiatrist Gustav Marx now added the diagnosis of »schizophrenia«, and from then on, Heinrich Röhrup never left the Lüneburg mental hospital. After his third admission, the Lüneburg doctors registered him at Tiergartenstraße 4 in Berlin, where the systematic murder of patients was being organised. Thus, Heinrich Röhrup, classified as a »schizophrenic« who was »dangerous to the public«, was placed on the deportation list.

On 7 March 1941, Heinrich Röhrup was »economically relocated« from Lüneburg to the Pirna-Sonnenschein killing centre as part of »Aktion T4« and murdered in a gas chamber immediately upon arrival.

The handkerchief is almost square. The lettering and motifs are embroidered with blue, brown, black, white and red thread. The motifs are embroidered in a random pattern and partially overlap.

Handkerchief, embroidery on cotton, probably by Martha Kaufmann, about 1929–1936.

ArEGL 168.

The passport photo is black and white. Martha Kaufmann is wearing a polka dot shirt with a striped waistcoat. Her hair is loosely pinned back and she is looking directly at the camera with her mouth closed and a slight smile on her face. Her head is tilted slightly to the right.

Martha Kaufmann, around 1930.

NLA Hanover Hann. 155 Lüneburg Acc. 2004/066 No. 09222.

»Heil Hiedler« was embroidered on the handkerchief several times. The embroidery was probably done between 1929 and 1936. The name »Marchta [R]Kaufmann« is embroidered on the handkerchief sixteen times. It can therefore be assumed that it came from her. Martha Kaufmann was murdered on 12 May 1941 in the Hadamar killing centre. She was considered »unfit for work«, »useless« and, from the perspective of the time, »unworthy of life«.

THERESE SCHUBERT (née KECK) (1884 – 1941)

The embroidery is round. There are white fringes around the edge. The wreath of flowers is embroidered in cross-stitch on a black background. The flowers are orange, pink and red with a little green.

Tapestry embroidery, handcrafted by Therese Schubert, Lüneburg, around 1930.

ArEGL 94.

This embroidery was intended to become a cushion cover. The handiwork of Therese Schubert (née Keck) required a great deal of patience and was never completed due to illness. The restlessness that necessitated Therese Schubert’s stay in an institution in the 1930s prevented her from continuing work on the piece. It was kept by her sons, like many other things from their mother’s life: school notebooks, textbooks and drawings by her children.

The photograph is black and white. The section is oval. Therese is on the left and her husband is on the right. He is wearing a dark suit with a light-coloured waistcoat, shirt and tie. His hair is combed back tightly. Therese is wearing a light-coloured dress with a pearl necklace around her neck. Her hair is loosely pinned back. Both are looking slightly to the left out of the picture with their mouths closed.

Therese and Heinrich Schubert, wedding photo, 21 September 1920. A few years later, Heinrich died and Therese Schubert fell ill.

Private collection of Ulrike Haus.

The children became indirect victims of »Aktion T4« because they were orphaned by the murders. In many cases, the children were placed in homes or foster families. Theo and Jürgen Schubert were raised by their aunt Christine Keck.

Interview

It is a black-and-white portrait photograph. The boys are wearing dark suits with striped shirts and checked ties. Both have their hair combed back neatly and are wearing distinctive round glasses. They are both looking seriously into the camera.

Private property of Ulrike Haus.

Jürgen and Theo Schubert in 1932 when their mother Therese Schubert was first admitted to the Lüneburg mental hospital. After Therese was readmitted to Lüneburg in 1936, her sister Christine Keck frequently sent Theo to the hospital to bring their mother oranges and cake. Out of fear, Theo left the items with the porter and therefore never saw his mother again.

There are three black-and-white pictures side by side. Two rectangular ones and an oval portrait in the middle. The picture on the left shows Therese Schubert in a light, opulent dress with a light-coloured hat. She is standing very upright with her right hand behind her back. The middle picture is a portrait. Therese Schubert is wearing a dark top with a light-coloured shawl. Her hair is loosely pinned back. She is looking directly at the camera with a friendly expression. The picture on the right shows Therese Schubert in a light-coloured, opulent dress with a light-coloured hat. She is leaning against a pillar. She is looking directly at the camera with a friendly expression.

Photograph by Therese Schubert, Lüneburg (Studio Hans Wrede), around 1907.

There are three black-and-white pictures side by side. Two rectangular ones and an oval portrait in the middle. The picture on the left shows Therese Schubert in a light, opulent dress with a light-coloured hat. She is standing very upright with her right hand behind her back. The middle picture is a portrait. Therese Schubert is wearing a dark top with a light-coloured shawl. Her hair is loosely pinned back. She is looking directly at the camera with a friendly expression. The picture on the right shows Therese Schubert in a light-coloured, opulent dress with a light-coloured hat. She is leaning against a pillar. She is looking directly at the camera with a friendly expression.

Photograph of Therese Schubert, portrait, Lüneburg, around 1914.

There are three black-and-white pictures side by side. Two rectangular ones and an oval portrait in the middle. The picture on the left shows Therese Schubert in a light, opulent dress with a light-coloured hat. She is standing very upright with her right hand behind her back. The middle picture is a portrait. Therese Schubert is wearing a dark top with a light-coloured shawl. Her hair is loosely pinned back. She is looking directly at the camera with a friendly expression. The picture on the right shows Therese Schubert in a light-coloured, opulent dress with a light-coloured hat. She is leaning against a pillar. She is looking directly at the camera with a friendly expression.

Photograph by Therese Schubert, studio photograph, Somerset (USA), around 1913.

Private collection of Ulrike Haus | ArEGL 91, 92, 93.

Many photographs of Therese Schubert have been preserved. Thanks to their middle-class background, the family could afford to go to a photographer. The portrait was taken in connection with her training as a nursery school teacher.

ELFA SEIPEL (1897 – 1941)

Elfa wears a dark skirt with a short-sleeved blouse and her hair pinned back. She looks into the camera. Her left hand rests in her sister's lap, who is holding her. Paula puts her right arm around Elfa. Paula wears a dark dress and her hair is styled. Paintings can be seen on a wall in the background. The photo is an oval cut-out.

Elfa (left) Seipel (née Piske) with her sister Paula, before 1914.

ArEGL 205-3.

Elfa Seipel, née Piske, was born on 6 May 1897 in Schleswig. Elfa attended elementary school in Rendsburg, where her father ran an officers‘ mess. Elfa probably contracted »syphilis«, a widespread sexually transmitted disease at the time, as a teenager or young adult. On 24 December 1923, Elfa married paymaster Ludwig Seipel. The couple lived in Soltau until 1931. The marriage remained childless. In 1932, Ludwig embarked on a career as a senior civil servant and moved temporarily to his parents‘ home in Hanover. Elfa moved into an apartment in Uelzen on her own.

Her health had deteriorated in the meantime. As a result of »syphilis«, she developed delusions and attempted suicide. She was then admitted to the Lüneburg mental hospital with a diagnosis of »progressive paralysis«. In 1936, her brother Otto tried to get her released so that their mother could care for her at home. This was rejected by the hospital director, Max Bräuner, because her place of residence would then no longer have been within the hospital’s catchment area. Elfa Seipel was transferred to the Herborn transit institution at the age of 43 on 9 April 1941 and from there to the Hadamar killing centre on 28 May 1941.

Twelve days later, the family learned of her death in a »letter of condolence«. The official cause of death was listed as »stroke«. From the outset, the family suspected that Elfa’s death was not a direct result of her illness.

Interview

ANNA WICHERN (1896 – 1941)

The commemorative paper is printed. The paper is yellowed and there is a water stain on the right-hand side. The commemorative paper is printed with a decorative frame. In the centre is a drawing of a biblical scene. Below the picture is a commemorative text. The details of Anna Wichern's confirmation are filled in by hand.

Memento of Anna Wichern’s confirmation in Scheeßel, 1910.

ArEGL 180-1 | Private collection of Marlies Brüggemann.

Anna Wichern was born on 10 February 1896 in Ostervesede in the district of Rotenburg. She was the eldest daughter of Johann and Anna Wichern, née Peters, and had five younger siblings. Her father ran his own farm. The family was very devout.

Anna fell ill with melancholia in 1915 at the age of 19. Her family was familiar with her emotional state, as Anna’s father Johann had also suffered from melancholia. Unlike her father, she was admitted to an institution in Lüneburg in August 1916. Five months later, on 29 January 1917, she was »discharged as cured«. In December 1918, she fell ill again. At the beginning of 1919, she was admitted to the Rotenburg institutions of the Inner Mission, from where she was transferred to the Lüneburg institution and nursing home for a second time in April 1919. During this stay, her mother prayed so often for her daughter’s recovery that marks appeared on the floor of the attic where she knelt. Shortly before her 24th birthday, Anna was indeed released home again after being cured.

On 31 December 1925, Anna Wichern was admitted to the Lüneburg institution for the third time. This time she remained there until she was transferred to the »Aktion T4« on 30 April 1941. Although her parents paid for each stay out of their own pocket and Anna was therefore not a burden on the public health system, she was selected. It is also highly likely that the entry »schizophrenia« on her characteristic sheet was only made in connection with the report to the »T4« headquarters. It is doubtful that this diagnosis corresponded to Anna’s actual clinical picture. She was gassed at the Hadamar killing centre on 16 June 1941.

Anna’s mother learned of the »planned relocation« three days after her daughter had already died. On 27 June 1941, she received a letter informing her that her daughter Anna had died »unexpectedly as a result of pneumonia«. This »letter of consolation« and Anna’s death certificate have been preserved by the family to this day. Her mother suspected that Anna had been murdered.

Interview

OSKAR (1903 – 1941) aND HANS POHLMANN (1899 – 1942)

In the black-and-white family photo, the mother is sitting on a chair. She is wearing a long, high-necked dark dress with her hair pulled back tightly. Her hands are holding dark fabric in her lap. Behind her stand her siblings. The men are wearing dark suits with ties and light-coloured shirts. Alma is wearing a long white dress with short sleeves and a dark bow at the neck. All four are looking at the camera. Bushes can be seen in the background.

The siblings Oskar, Hans and Alma Pohlmann with their mother Berta Pohlmann, around 1933.

ArEGL 131.

The Pohlmann family came from Wieren (Uelzen). They had owned a shoemaker’s workshop for generations and moved to Bodenteich in 1908. There, Berta Pohlmann ran a grocery store. Her son Oskar was very musical and played the violin, flute and trumpet. Her eldest son Hans continued the family tradition and became a shoemaker. Both brothers fell victim to »euthanasia«. Oskar (born in 1903) was murdered in 1941 in the Hadamar killing centre. Hans (born in 1899) died in 1942 in the Lüneburg mental hospital. If it had become known that both sons had died in an institution, no one would have shopped at her store anymore. Therefore, Berta Pohlmann claimed that her sons had been killed in the war and had both of them buried in the cemetery in Bodenteich.

Interview

Ida Zettel’s parents ran the upper-class Bahnhofshotel in Hamburg-Harburg. After their death, her siblings Toni and Theodor took over the hotel. Due to inflation in 1923 and the ensuing economic crises, they were unable to keep the hotel. The upper floors were rented out. In 1937, the East Hanover Gauleitung moved in. Ida Zettel was murdered on 16 June 1941 in the Hadamar killing centre.

Interview

The black-and-white portrait photo is printed on a photographer's paper. Ida Zettel is wearing a light-coloured, high-necked dress. Her hair is pinned back in a voluminous style. She looks kindly slightly past the camera. She is wearing a necklace with a heart pendant.

Ida Zettel, around 1904.

ArEGL 173-3.

The letter is written on lined school paper. The handwriting is tight and even. The paper is very yellowed.

Letter from Ida Zettel at the Lüneburg institution to her uncle Georg dated 30 December 1928, front side.

ArEGL 173-12

It is a black-and-white photograph. The hotel is a four-storey building on the corner of a large street. It has a distinctive onion dome on the corner of the building. A large flag with a swastika flies on the roof.

Postcard of the Bahnhofshotel Harburg as the headquarters of the Gau Ost-Hannover, before 1937.

ArEGL 173-10.

A medical record was created for each patient. This is Peter Behrens‘ medical record. Some records include a photograph. These were always affixed to the top left of the first page. A photographer visited the institution for this purpose. He photographed all patients who were staying for a longer period of time. The stamp in the top right-hand corner of the medical record shows that Peter Behrens was admitted to the Lüneburg mental hospital against his will and by police force. He was assessed as »hereditarily diseased«. As a result, his sterilisation was requested and carried out on 11 August 1938. The upper red stamp confirms that Peter Behrens was registered by the health authorities as »hereditary biological« and that a file was created for him and his entire family. Each family member was examined to determine whether they might have a congenital or potentially hereditary disease.

The second red stamp indicates that Peter Behrens received insulin shock treatment. This involved deliberately lowering his blood sugar levels and inducing a coma for several minutes. The procedure was repeated several times, placing additional strain on the patient. In some cases, it triggered seizures. It was not until 1955 that the ineffectiveness of shock treatment was recognised, and it has not been used since.

»7.3.41 transferred« means that Peter Behrens was transferred to the Pirna-Sonnenstein killing centre on that day. It is the handwriting of Rudolf Redepenning, who knew at the time what a transfer to the Saxon institution meant. Peter Behrens is a victim of »Aktion T4«.

The medical record is perforated on the side. It is printed. It was filled out by hand. The photo is slightly crooked where it is glued on.

Medical records of Peter Behrens, 1937.

NLA Hanover Hann. 155 Lüneburg Acc. 2004/066 No. 07569.

Many adult victims of euthanasia may no longer have any family photographs. For some individuals, there is at least a picture from their medical records. These are problematic images, as they were not taken voluntarily at the Lüneburg institution and nursing home. The people in the photos are ill and in poor health. That is why these images are degrading. Nevertheless, they are shown here because it is important to give the victims a face.

back