The printed notebook is filled in by hand. The entries are written in fountain pen.

Excerpt from Henry Weyn’s medical history.

NLA Hanover Lower Saxony 330 Lüneburg Acc. 2004/134 No. 02100.

HENRY WEYN (1924 – 1945)

Henry Weyn fled with his father from St. Niklas near Antwerp (Belgium) to the German Reich. He was admitted to the Lüneburg Mental Hospital in October 1944. With his transfer from House 21 to the »foreigners‘ collection point« in House 15, the entries in his medical file end. Rudolf Redepenning only recorded his death. The allegedly fatal continuous convulsion is missing from the otherwise completed »convulsion curve«. It is very likely that Henry Weyn was killed.

STEFAN LAPIKOW (1907 – 1945)

Stefan Lapikow died in Lüneburg a week after arriving from the Wehnen institution without having been examined by a doctor. The sick forced labourers experienced repeated exclusion and violence. Due to the forced labour, they arrived at the sanatorium and nursing home in a particularly weakened state. Little consideration was given to the fact that they spoke a foreign language. As they were inadequately supplied with food and medicine, many became seriously ill and died. Rudolf Redepenning did not examine them until two weeks after their arrival.

The entry was typed. A handwritten addition was added.

Excerpt from Stefan Lapikow’s medical history.

NLA Hanover Lower Saxony 330 Lüneburg Acc. 2004/134 No. 00683.

The file cover is made of red cardboard. The pre-printed categories are filled in by hand.
The subject index is a printed table. The personal details of Ilya Matziuk are handwritten. The property table has not been completed.

File cover and table of contents of Ilja Matziuk’s medical file, front side.

NLA Hanover Hann. 330 Lüneburg Acc. 2004/134 No. 01836.

ILJA MATZIUK (1944 – 1945)

Ilja Matziuk was born on 7 September 1944 in Delmenhorst. On 14 December 1944, she was taken from the Wehnen mental hospital near Oldenburg to the Lüneburg mental hospital together with her mother, Maria Matziuk, who was a forced labourer. She was one of a total of 33 people who were transferred to Lüneburg that day. Because she had no disability, Ilja was not admitted to the »children’s ward« but remained with her mother. Although it was the middle of winter, Ilja had only a shirt and a wool jacket, four cloth nappies and a feather bed when she arrived in Lüneburg.

Ilja Matziuk died on 3 January 1945, in the third week after her arrival. She was buried in the institution’s cemetery in the graveyard for foreign patients and not in the children’s graveyard. The cause of death was given as »influenza infection«. Her mother was »released after improvement« on 26 July 1945.

TADEUSZ CEBULA (1927 – 1945)

Tadeusz Cebula was born on 5 December 1927 in the district of Krakow in Poland. After the German occupation of Poland on 1 September 1939, many Polish women and men were forced into labour. From 1944 onwards, young people were also recruited for this purpose. One of these young people was Tadeusz Cebula. He was in the camp in Unterlüß near Celle, where he worked for the Rheinmetall-Borsig armaments factory. According to his medical records, Tadeusz Cebula was housed in Camp III. Because he was allegedly »highly mentally deficient and unacceptable to the camp community due to uncleanliness«, the company and camp doctor Hartung ordered him to be placed in an institution on 18 January 1945.

The »inventory list« reveals that Tadeusz was admitted directly to the »Eastern Workers‘ Ward« in House 15 on 20 January 1945 with a pair of wooden clogs, a cap, two pairs of trousers and two shirts – in other words, prisoner clothing.

Table of contents by Tadeusz Cebula, front page.

NLA Hanover Hann. 155 Lüneburg Acc. 2004/085 No. 01701.

The medical history form is handwritten. In blue ink. The handwriting is different. There is a red stamp on the front. It reads: "Erbbiologisch erfaßt. Sippentafel and index card created."

Excerpt from the medical history of Tadeusz Cebula.

NLA Hanover Hann. 155 Lüneburg Acc. 2004/085 No. 01701.

Tadeusz Cebula was severely emaciated. His file contains no references to life-saving measures, such as additional food or tube feeding. Although another Polish forced labourer was able to confirm as a translator that Tadeusz Cebula had a good school education and was very good at arithmetic, Rudolf Redepenning considered him to be »congenitally feeble-minded«. Tadeusz was denied any kind of therapy.

Tadeusz Cebula was only 17 years old when he died on 23 April 1945 in the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home.

KATHARINA KUNKA (1910 – 1947)

Katharina Kunka was born in Ukraine. Due to a tumour, she was admitted to St. Josefstift in Celle on 4 October 1944. After her return to the forced labour camp at the Rheinmetall-Borsig-Werke in Unterlüß, she was examined by the company and camp doctor. He admitted her to the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home because of »helplessness, anxious looking around, unresponsiveness«. On 20 January 1945, she was placed in the »Eastern Workers‘ Hall«, which had been set up in House 16. Upon admission, she was described as pale, inhibited and fearful, with »red marks« on her chest indicating abuse. In March 1945, Katharina Kunka was feeling better and was working in the peeling kitchen.

In September 1945, she developed the first signs of tuberculosis. She must have been infected at the institution. Although she was now mentally healthy, she was not released because of her tuberculosis.

From then on, her condition fluctuated greatly until her death on 19 July 1947. Gustav Marx ordered tube feeding for her several times. Nevertheless, on 18 July 1947, he noted an »advanced decline in strength« and a »miserable condition«. The next day, Katharina Kunka was dead. She died at the age of 36, officially from pulmonary tuberculosis.

The cover sheet of the medical history is a pre-printed form. The categories are filled in by hand, only the provisional diagnoses in pencil. The paper is slightly worn.

Excerpt from Katharina Kunka’s medical history.

NLA Hanover Lower Saxony 330 Lüneburg Acc. 2004/134 No. 02058.

The transfer book is bound in linen and has a light-coloured label with the title. The book is heavily worn on the outside. The title is no longer legible in places.

Transfer book of admissions and discharges (House 15), Lüneburg Mental Hospital, from 1 October 1930 to 23 June 1950.

ArEGL 46.

This ward register lists patients who were admitted to House 15 of the Lüneburg Mental Hospital between 1 October 1940 and 23 June 1950, or who were transferred or discharged from there. The book illustrates the various phases of »Euthanasia«. At the same time, it bears witness to the creeping habituation or brutalisation and indirect participation in disenfranchisement and violence.

Until 1941, the patients and their belongings were recorded in detail. With the beginning of »euthanasia«, only surnames were usually noted. In the spring of 1941, the collective transfers to killing centres were documented. From 1944 onwards, there are anonymous entries, such as »10 Russians«. House 15 had meanwhile become the so-called »Eastern Workers‘ Ward«. In 1945, the dead were only recorded as tally marks. On one page is the entry »20/1 | Cebula | Admission | 151«. This refers to Tadeusz Cebula.

It is a black and white drawing. It is an oval medallion. Juchim Schnal looks seriously to the front. He is wearing a dark suit with a patterned shirt. His hair is dark and cut short.

Portrait of Juchim Schnal, before 1944.

Private property of Oksana Fischer.

JUCHIM SCHNAL (1903 – 1945)

Juchim Schnal was born on 11 October 1903 in Tomaschow, Ukraine (now Poland). On 6 January 1944, Orthodox Christmas Day, he was deported to forced labour. When Wehrmacht soldiers searched the house where he lived, he was in the bathroom. Because he hadn’t heard anything, he flushed the toilet, which alerted them to his presence. He was taken to Brake on the Weser River in the Wesermarsch district to work in the port. Due to exhaustion, he was admitted to the Wehnen sanatorium and nursing home.

Interview

»It was impossible to reach an understanding with Sch.[nal] Sch. completely isolated himself from his own compatriots and eventually became increasingly isolated.«

NLA Hanover Lower Saxony 330 Lüneburg Acc. 2004/134 No. 00381.

Excerpt from the medical history of Juchim Schnal.

NLA Hanover Lower Saxony 330 Lüneburg Acc. 2004/134 No. 00381.

On 14 December 1944, Juchim Schnal was transferred to the Lüneburg sanatorium. It was not until 3 January 1945 that he was examined by Rudolf Redepenning, by which time he was in a completely weakened physical condition. After that, there were only a few entries in his medical records. The choice of words used leaves no doubt as to how little regard Redepenning had for him.

»Emaciated. Weak. Inhibited. Unfit for work. Skin festering over the wound site. Pitiful sight, can’t sit still! – Wound care. Findings report, unfit for work.«

NLA Hanover Lower Saxony 330 Lüneburg Acc. 2004/134 No. 00381.

Three days later, Redepenning simply noted, »Miserable condition«. Another three days later, Juchim Schnal was dead. On the morning of 13 February 1945, he was found lifeless in his bed. The official cause of death was »exhaustion due to extensive subcutaneous oedema of the abdominal skin«. Juchim Schnal was 41 years old. He is said to have been a deeply religious man.

It is a tear-off slip. The paper is somewhat yellowed. The proof is filled in with a typewriter.

Proof of identity of Franciszek Wajsen, after 1945.

Arolsen Archives.

FRANCISZEK JÓZEF WAJSEN (1921 – 1945)

Franciszek Wajsen came from Hrubieszów in Poland. He was the son of craftsman Józef Wajsen and his wife Katarzyna (née Hunkiewicz). Józef was of German-Jewish descent. Franciszek had four brothers: Mieczysław, Jan, Kazimierz and Stanisław. He was the second oldest. Mieczysław went to Silesia as an »ethnic German« and survived as a translator in France. His younger brother Jan disappeared from one day to the next. The family assumes that he was shot.

Interview

It is a black and white postcard. It is worn and creased. Seven young men are standing outside around a bush. An eighth man is squatting next to the bush. The men are picking the fruit from the bush. They are wearing light-coloured, light shirts with short or rolled-up sleeves and slightly darker trousers. Most of them are looking at the bush. Two are looking directly at the camera. They all seem to be in a good mood.

Kazimierz Wajsen (2nd from left?) with fellow forced labourers, before April 1944, Hamburg.

Private property of Magda Wajsen.

In May 1942, brothers Kazimierz and Franciszek Wajsen were deported to Hamburg for forced labour. They were sent to two different »work education camps«, Franciszek for attempting to escape and his brother Kazimierz for »illegal gatherings«. Kazimierz survived the Neuengamme concentration camp and was liberated in May 1945 on the ship »Athen«.

The letter was written on a typewriter. It is signed by hand. The paper is yellowed.

Letter from Hans Follstich to the Hamburg Employment Office dated 4 December 1942.

Arolsen Archives.

Franciszek Wajsen was unable to withstand the strain of forced labour. He was picked up by the Gestapo and admitted to the psychiatric ward of the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf on 2 September 1942. Because he was classified as »unfit for work« and the company did not want him back, the employment office approved the doctor’s recommendation that he return home. But he did not return.

The table is written on a typewriter. The person's name and place of birth are written down. Also the arresting authority and the date and place of release. The date of birth has been added by hand. The chart is signed and has a stamp.

List of Polish forced labourers who were transferred from the Cuxhaven court prison to other places of detention, 1944.

Arolsen Archives.

In December 1943, Franciszek worked for a farmer in Greversdorf-Oste. In March 1944, he was released from Cuxhaven court prison to Gestapo custody in the Bremen-Farge »work education camp« due to the risk of him fleeing. From there, he was transferred to the Lüneburg mental hospital on 26 June 1944. Franciszek’s mother, Katarzyna Wajsen, fled with Stanisław to Warsaw. She left her husband behind. Józef is said to have gone to Germany afterwards.

The advert is typewritten and signed by two people. The paper is somewhat yellowed.

Application by Elisabeth Wolters for the compulsory admission of Ida Mennen and her daughter Yvonne, dated 25 October 1944.

NLA Hanover Hann. 155 Lüneburg Acc. 56/83 No. 132.

YVONNE MENNEN (1938 – 1944)

Yvonne Mennen was born on 6 December 1938 in the Netherlands. Her parents were Hinderk Mennen, a soldier, and his wife Ida (née Leduc), a Flemish woman from Belgium. Yvonne Mennen had eleven siblings, five of whom had died and three of whom lived in a children’s home. Her mother fled with her and two other siblings from Holland to the German Reich. They arrived in Bienenbüttel at an NSV refugee camp. From there, they were moved to a poorhouse due to uncleanliness and alleged mental illness. Finally, they were housed in a stable. Yvonne Mennen’s two-and-a-half-year-old sister and eight-year-old brother contracted scabies there and had to be admitted to the auxiliary hospital in Uelzen. After that, they were to be taken to an NSV children’s home.

In desperation, the mother threatened to take her own life and that of her children. A doctor from Bevensen then came to the conclusion that Ida and Yvonne Mennen had to be admitted to the Lüneburg sanatorium. Just four weeks after her admission, Yvonne Mennen was dead. She was murdered in the »children’s ward« and buried in the children’s graveyard. Her mother survived and was released on 2 March 1945, before the end of the war, as »reformed«.

This is the gravestone of Timofey Thomachinko. Instead of his real name, »Schannschinoko« was engraved. Timofey Thomachinko did not even seem to be worthy of having his dates of birth and death added. Often, incorrect dates of death were given on gravestones and names were not spelled correctly. This was contrary to the War Graves Act.

The gravestone is small and flat. The false name "Schannschinoko" is engraved on it in capital letters. The dates of life are missing.

ArEGL.

The index has been filled in by hand. It is somewhat faded.

There are hardly any photos of female »Eastern European workers«. The identification card with a photo of Maria Medvedieva was given to her when she was transferred on 20 November 1944. Her medical file consists solely of a personnel form and a list of belongings.

Inventory of Maria Medvedeva’s belongings, 3 July 1944.

NLA Hanover Hann. 155 Lüneburg Acc. 2004/085 No. 01028.

The three women look cheerful. Their plates are generously filled. Their hair is carefully done and they are wearing different clothes. A patch with the word "OST" can be seen on the clothes of the woman on the right.

The photo shows »Eastern European female workers« at a table set with filled plates. It is a propaganda image from February 1943.

BArch Image 183-J05126.

MARIA MEDWEDIEWA (1925 – 1944)

Maria Medvedieva was born on 5 February 1925. Since she is referred to as an »Eastern worker«, it is possible that she came from Russia. She was an agricultural assistant for farmer Friedrich Fischer in Oldendorf (Bremervörde). At first, Fischer described his forced labourer as hard-working and efficient. Then she stopped working well. Eventually, she began to behave strangely, which led him to suspect that she was not mentally well. Maria Medvedieva was presented to the medical officer on 1 July 1944 and admitted to the Lüneburg sanatorium on 3 July 1944, initially to the observation ward in House 22. From there she was transferred to the »Eastern workers‘ ward« in House 16. She was registered for hereditary biology. Upon her arrival, she was wearing work clothes in poor condition, with an »Ost« badge for identification, and wooden clogs. Fischer had claimed that she had come into his bedroom naked at night and behaved lewdly, probably a protective claim. Maria Medvedieva was transferred on 20 November 1944 in a collective transport. The destination is unknown. It is almost certain that she was murdered in a forest or in a killing centre in Poland.

ADAM RABSCHICK (1862 – 1942)

Adam Rabschick was not only a victim of euthanasia as a »foreigner«, but also as a homeless person. He was born in Keplow, Hungary. As a young man, he unsuccessfully enlisted in the Hussars, then traded in mouse traps and worked temporarily in agriculture. He lived in the Hanover and Hildesheim area, scraping by. He drank alcohol. He was arrested several times for vagrancy. His pension was not enough, and he could neither read, write nor do arithmetic. He had to beg, which also landed him in prison several times. From there, he was sent to the Wunstorf sanatorium in 1930. He was assigned to occupational therapy, weaving baskets and plucking shrapnel. In 1941, the Wunstorf sanatorium was cleared to make way for a youth welfare institution. Adam Rabschick was therefore transferred to the Lüneburg sanatorium on 12 August 1941 and admitted to House 25. When the »children’s ward« was established there on 9 October 1941, he was moved to House 6. He died there on 24 January 1942. A violent death is likely in his case.

The form is filled in on a typewriter. His photo is stuck in the top left-hand corner. The medical chart has a few stains on the left.

Medical records of Adam Rabschick.

NLA Hanover Lower Saxony 330 Lüneburg Acc. 2004/134 No. 00513.

The letter is perforated and slightly creased at the edges. It was written by typewriter. There is a small blue stamp at the top with the date of despatch. There are two name abbreviations at the bottom.

Letter from the District Administrator of Stade to the Chief President of Hanover dated 19 July 1943.

NLA Stade Rep. 274 Stade No. 80.

The cover page is partly filled in by typewriter and partly by hand. Various handwritings can be seen.

Excerpt from Galina Radomska’s medical records.

NLA Hanover Lower Saxony 330 Lüneburg Acc. 2004/134 No. 02503.

GALINA RADOMSKA (1918 – 1944)

Galina Radomska came from Kiev in Ukraine and was the daughter of the doctor Anton Radomsky. She was assigned to the hospital in Stade and was responsible for providing medical care to the »Eastern workers‘ barracks« there. In the summer of 1943, she was supposed to be assigned to the Volkswagen factory in the »City of the KdF Car« (Wolfsburg) to provide medical care for the prisoners of war there. This did not happen because she fell ill. Her repatriation to her homeland was refused. On 31 July 1943, she was admitted to the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home; her father was now in Warsaw. The collective transfer eleven months later proves that the Lüneburg institution was already a transit facility for the »euthanasia of foreigners« in the first half of 1944.

GJURAGI SOKCEVIC (1907 – 1944)

Gjuragi Sokcevic is the only victim of the killing of patients at Lüneburg Municipal Hospital for whom a photograph has been filed in the death register collection folder. He came from Russia and was performing forced labour for the construction company Wayss & Freytag in Hamburg. Founded in 1875, the joint-stock company earned a lot of money clearing rubble. After the war, it was able to establish a new company that produced building materials from war rubble.

Gjuragi Sokcevic was assigned to earthworks, which meant he had to shovel. He was housed in the Alt Garge communal camp in the district of Lüneburg. He was admitted to Lüneburg Municipal Hospital because of tuberculosis. There, on 18 June 1943, he was murdered by Günter Schulz with an overdose of morphine.

It is a black and white portrait. It is yellowed. He is looking directly into the camera. He looks very gaunt and exhausted. He is wearing a dark coat and a light-coloured shirt. His hair is combed back.

Gjuragi Sokcevic, around 1943.

StadtALg, PSLG-S, 95.

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