DEALING WITH THE GRAVES

The letter is written on half a page. The paper is very yellowed. It is typewritten and signed by hand.

Letter from the cemetery office of the city of Lüneburg to the former sanatorium and nursing home Lüneburg dated 2 October 1957.

StadtALg, VA2, 5001.

In France, the Netherlands and Italy, the dead of the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home were recognised as victims of National Socialism. Their bodies were reburied between 1949 and 1957. The French and Dutch war dead were repatriated. The Italian Mariano Tedeschi was transferred to the Hamburg-Öjendorf cemetery.

Leonardus Adrianus Krol (1918 – 1945) from Noordwijk was a baker. He had fled to the German Reich to seek safety from the approaching Western Front. As he could not be treated in Bremen due to the bombing, he came to Lüneburg and was admitted to the »Ausländersammelstelle« on 8 January 1945. He was dead within three months.

The minutes are a form that was filled out using a typewriter. The paper is yellowed. It is signed by hand.

Transcript of the reburial of the Dutchman Leonardus Adrianus Krol on 15 October 1953.

StadtALg, VA2, 5001.

The index is typewritten. The paper is very yellowed. Pierre Adam's date of birth, date of admission, date of death and grave number are noted.

List of prisoners of war of French nationality buried in the cemetery of the state sanatorium and nursing home in Lüneburg before 1949.

StadtALg, VA2, 5001.

Pierre Adam (1908 – 1945) from Paris is one of the reburied French dead. He was a prisoner of war. He was admitted to the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home on 9 May 1945 and died after four days. He was transferred to France in 1949.

It is a black and white photo. It shows two men in dark suits at a decorated lectern in the park in front of the memorial stone.

Rudolf Redepenning at the memorial service on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home, summer 1951.

ArEGL 159-2.

The first commemoration of the dead after 1945 at the former Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home took place on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the institution. In the 1930s, a memorial stone was erected between House 9 and House 34 for those who died in the First World War. It was used in 1951 to also commemorate the fallen of the Second World War. In contrast, for decades there was no memorial stone for those murdered in the institutional cemetery.

It is a black and white photo of the institutional cemetery. The photo was taken from the air. The cemetery is almost square in shape. It is divided into different cemeteries. There are fields with larger graves and fields with smaller graves. A gravel pit is recognisable in the bottom left-hand corner of the cemetery. In the centre of the cemetery there is a missing grave field. An avenue of trees can be recognised there.

Detail from an aerial photograph, institutional cemetery, 13 April 1963, from: Aerial photograph Bildflug Lüneburg-Barum (224), picture No. 3/142.

StadtALg, BS, Pos-Gr-3822.

It is a colour photo of a gravestone. It is a lengthwise oval natural stone. The name REDEPENNING is written in letters on the gravestone. Leaves lie in front of it. It is weathered and mossy in places. It is surrounded by bushes and trees. The grave is in an unkempt condition.

Grave of Rudolf Redepenning, 2025.
Photographer Mathias Mensch.

ArEGL.

Before 1963, a grove of honour was laid out in the hospital cemetery, presumably for the victims of the murder of patients in the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home. When Rudolf Redepenning died in 1967, he was buried there. All of the victims‘ graves were still there. He was jointly responsible for the deaths of some of them. The site is now a memorial.

The list consists of a double page perforated in the centre. The paper is very yellowed. The table is printed and mainly filled in by typewriter. Some details on nationality and date and place of birth have been filled in or corrected by hand.

Extract from the list of graves (§ 6 letter e of the War Graves Act of 27 May 1952) for the cemetery of the former Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home dated 3 February 1954.

StadtALg, VA2, 5001.

From 1975 onwards, hundreds of graves of the victims of infanticide and post-war psychiatry were covered over after their 25-year resting period had expired. Nobody was interested in the results of the public prosecutor’s investigations and the resulting requirement to preserve all the graves. The cemetery office at the time thus violated the War Graves Act.

It is a black and white photo. Else Wehde is pictured up to her knees. She is wearing a dark jacket with a dark skirt and light-coloured blouse. Her hair is loosely pinned up. She holds her hands folded in her lap and looks downcast.

Else Wehde at the grave of her son Fritz Wehde, after 1945. The grave disappeared in the 1970s.

Privatbesitz Uta Wehde.

When Fritz Wehde’s grave, like the other 300 gravesites of children and young people, was closed, his parents were deprived of their only place of mourning.

In 1975, a war cemetery was created with mock graves for 50 »euthanasia« victims. Their reburials were predetermined but never took place. In addition, 35 graves of dead who were not the designated »euthanasia« victims were included. The relevant list of graves was falsified. The site was never publicly inaugurated. Even after its construction, there was no public commemoration there until 2013.

The letter is typewritten. It is stamped as a draft and has several holes punched on the left. The letter confirms that the graves have been moved.

Letter from the City of Lüneburg to the District President dated 15 September 1975.

Cemetery Office of the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg, loose-leaf collection, copy ArEGL.

The paper is slightly yellowed. It shows a hand-drawn technical illustration. Plantings and lawns are marked with a ruler and provided with measurements.

StadtALg, VA2, 5001.

Survey for the construction of a war cemetery on the former hospital cemetery dated 12 September 1975. The gardening work was carried out by the nursery of the state hospital. Some of the patients at the time were also involved.

The simple grounds (lawn with a double row of graves, pillow stones for »single graves«) were given a hedge and a wooden cross with the inscription »1933 – 1945«. In this form, the site was easy to mow and cost hardly any money.

It is a colour photo of the high cross. There are low bushes in front of the cross. Behind and next to it are somewhat taller plants.

High cross of the war cemetery in the North-West Cemetery, 2014.

It is a colour photo. A lawn with embedded stones is visible. It is bordered at the edge by flower beds with hedges.

Rows of graves with mock graves as part of the war cemetery at the North-West Cemetery, 2014.

ArEGL.

The letter is typewritten and signed by hand. The paper is yellowed. It is labelled "draft" with a red stamp.

Letter (draft) from the cemetery office of the city of Lüneburg to Jadwiga Cichon dated 4 July 1978.

StadtALg, VA2, 5001.

When Jadwiga Cichon, the wife of Jon Cichon (1892 – 1945), enquired about the location of her husband’s grave in 1978, the cemetery office referred her to the former sanatorium and nursing home in Lüneburg. His grave was not taken into account when the war cemetery was established. Relatives were not involved in dealing with the graves of their dead.

The investigation into the crimes continues to the present day. Initially, the murders were concealed. It took many decades before the crimes were uncovered and publicly visible signs were set. To this day, relatives often learn for the first time about the violence inflicted on their family members. Since 2013, the names of the victims have been named and their life stories written down. This is one of the reasons why this exhibition has existed since 2025.

It is a blurred colour photo. It shows a low wooden cross with an inscription in the centre. In front of the cross are three small bouquets of flowers.

Wooden cross at the institutional cemetery, 1 July 1983.

ArEGL 19.

Members of civil society set an example independently of the efforts of the authorities and the state hospital. In spring 1983, they erected a wooden cross in the hospital cemetery. As it had been erected by an unknown person and did not meet the expectations of the medical director, the wooden cross was dismantled at the beginning of July 1983 and stored in the nursery of the state hospital.

»…. so that they are not forgotten
Consequences of fascism:
In memory of 300 children who were
victims of Nazi rule.«

The sketch is slightly yellowed and was made in a free hand. Inscriptions are made in irregular handwriting in partly slanted lines. The dimensions are drawn in with a ruler.

Design sketch by Uwe Mencke, 9 September 1983.

ArEGL 19.

The state social welfare office covered the cost of the memorial stone, which totalled around DM 1,750. The design came from the Lüneburg stonemason Mencke. When planning and erecting the memorial, the intention was to commemorate only the murdered children. The victims of foreign origin, who were officially buried at the war cemetery next door, were neither considered nor included in the design. They were completely ignored.

It is a colour photo of the memorial stone. A bush with a birch trunk is visible behind the stone.

Memorial stone at the site opposite the tool shed after its erection, 1983.

ArEGL.

On 20 November 1983, the memorial stone was unveiled at the prison cemetery. A place opposite the tool shed away from the main paths was chosen as the location. The inauguration only took place in a small circle of employees. No invitations were sent out.

The newspaper report is in one column and three paragraphs. Next to the article is a black and white photo of the memorial stone with many visitors.

Newspaper report with the title »Memorial stone as a reminder«. Lüneburger Landeszeitung from 21 November 1983.

ArEGL.

The letter to the editor is in a single column. The source is handwritten next to the excerpt.

Letter to the editor in the Lüneburger Landeszeitung by Margrit Küntzel-Hansen from 23 November 1983.

ArEGL 19.

As the newspaper – informed about the uninvited »Machtergreifung« working group – had also reported in advance, interested members of the town’s population also attended the dedication of the memorial stone. Nobody considered the possibility that there are families in the region who are still mourning their children and for whom such a stone could mean a lot. The relatives of those murdered were ignored.

In 1999, a working group was formed consisting of employees, relatives of patients and members of civil society. They are working on an anniversary edition to mark the 100th anniversary of the state hospital. Jürgen Lotze headed the working group. He had the vision of a memorial. During the renovation of the water tower in 1989, he ensured that concrete ceilings were installed on five levels. They were intended to enable future »museum use«. His successor was Sebastian Stierl.

»[…] the water tank can be retained even if the tower is used as a museum. After all, there are then 5 storeys available.«

Handwritten note in the building file dated 5 October 1989.

Building authority of the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg | Copy ArEGL.

It is DIN A5 paper, slightly yellowed. There is a handwritten note on it. The key message is: "[...] I think the water tank can be retained even if the tower is used as a museum. After all, there are then 5 storey levels available. [...]".

Extract from the building file, 1989.

StadtALg, VA2, 5001.

It is a portrait photo. Jürgen Lotze is wearing dark-coloured clothes. His hair is loosely combed to the sides. He wears square glasses and looks directly into the camera with a friendly gaze.

Jürgen Lotze, 2012.

ArEGL.

JÜRGEN LOTZE (1941 – 2020)

Jürgen Lotze came from Sülze and attended the Hermann-Billung-Gymnasium in Celle. From 1962, he studied medicine in Marburg, Berlin and Heidelberg. In 1969, he completed his studies with a doctoral thesis in which he investigated whether social background has an effect on heart disease and cancer.

As medical director of the drug counselling service „Drobs“ in Hanover, he was the first person in Germany to use the substitute drug methadone between 1972 and 1974. Between 1974 and 1987, he worked in the Wehnen and Wunstorf psychiatric hospitals and at the Hanover Medical School and Neurological Clinic. From 1987 to 2007, he worked at the Lower Saxony State Hospital in Lüneburg, in recent years as its Medical Director.

He supported social psychiatric approaches and introduced localised care for patients. From 1999, he was the driving force behind the founding of a memorial centre in Lüneburg and its deputy chairman. Throughout his life, he stood up for those who were among the most vulnerable within the group of mentally ill people.

The title shows a black and white drawing above the information about the book. The drawing shows a sideways portrait of a woman with long hair. She is looking to the left.

Psychiatry in the »Third Reich« in Lower Saxony. Accompanying material to the travelling exhibition.

ArEGL.

The working group received support from Raimond Reiter, who completed the project »Psychiatry in the Third Reich in Lower Saxony« at the same time. His travelling exhibition was opened in 1997 at the Hanover Adult Education Centre and shown for the last time in 2020 at Wunstorf Psychiatric Hospital. The state of research was no longer up to date. The people affected were portrayed without dignity and the narrative picked up on the discrimination from the National Socialist era.

This sign was erected by an unknown person in front of the former bathhouse at the water tower when it was converted for future use as a memorial site.

It is a colour photo. A picture in landscape format stands on a wide easel. On a blue-orange background with a restless cloud-like pattern, it says in old black letters: "This is where the memorial is being built".

Construction site sign in front of the future memorial, around 2003.

ArEGL 163-2.

It is a black and white portrait. Hanna Thiele is photographed from very close up. The picture is slightly blurred. She looks up to the left with a sceptical expression. Her hair looks freshly combed.

Hanna Thiele, around 1938.

NLA Hannover Hann. 155 Lüneburg Acc. 56/83 No. 435.

It is a photo of a newspaper article. In the middle of the text under the headline is a large coloured picture. It shows a side shot of Ursula von der Leyen in front of a wall of pictures. She is looking seriously to the left. Dr Raimond Reiter and Dr Jürgen Lotze can be seen in the background facing her.

Newspaper report from the Lüneburger Landeszeitung of 26 November 2004.

ArEGL.

The »Educational and Memorial Site ‚Victims of Nazi Psychiatry’« was inaugurated on 24 November 2004. It was based on the travelling exhibition »Psychiatry in the Third Reich in Lower Saxony« with official documents and medical records. The murder of patients of foreign origin was not addressed, nor were carers and families mentioned. Reports or memorabilia from contemporary witnesses and relatives were not included in the exhibition content.

The working group selected a photo from the medical file of Hanna Thiele (1932 – 1944) for the leaflet. In the exhibition, she was only described as a »child of the children’s ward« who had been murdered on 26 January 1944. The visitors learnt nothing more about the victims.

SETTING AN EXAMPLE AND REMEMBERING DIFFERENTLY

After 2012, the remembrance and commemoration of the victims of forced sterilisation and the murder of the sick has changed fundamentally. The protection of the privacy of relatives still alive today is subordinated to dignified remembrance and commemoration. Relatives are involved in the reappraisal and communication of the history of the Lüneburg medical crimes. The history is accessible to everyone. The memorial’s programmes include human rights for people with disabilities.

The article runs over one page. It has three columns. There are four photos arranged around the text. One photo at the top shows a photo of a house in the sanatorium and nursing home. Below it is a street sign for "Hindenburgstraße", where one of the children had lived. Below that is a small portrait photo of Carola S. Rudnick and at the bottom right is a larger photo. It is a black and white aerial view of Hindenburgstraße.

Hildesheimer Allgemeine Zeitung from 6 July 2013, p. 17.

It is a newspaper article with three columns. It is entitled "How did the boy Helmut Quast die?" There are no photos.

Harburger Rundschau from 3 July 2013, p. 3.

ArEGL 163-2.

The names of victims are mentioned. This was triggered by the search for relatives of twelve children whose brain remains were to be buried in 2013. In order to enable the relatives to attend the burial of the mortal remains, the names of the victims were published for the first time. As a result, relatives of nine of the twelve families were found.

It is a coloured hand-drawn sketch of a garden. The elements of the design are labelled.

Design draft of the memorial complex at the North-West Cemetery (former institutional cemetery) from 24 June 2013, in: Lüneburger Landeszeitung from 26 June 2013, p. 5.

ArEGL.

It is a colour photo of the memorial service. Two people are visible from the side behind. They are standing in front of an open urn grave. Two urns and shovels of sand are placed on a table. Other people can be seen in the background.

Public memorial service with burial of brain specimens in the presence of relatives, 25 August 2013.

ArEGL 224.

It is a colour photo. The memorial stone is visible in the centre of the new memorial complex. In front of the stone are many different large funeral wreaths with ribbons.

Memorial at the North-West Cemetery, 2019.

AArEGL 230.

A memorial complex was created at the former institutional cemetery. There are public memorial ceremonies. A different thematic focus is set each year. Pupils are often involved in the programme.

It is a colour photo. Several actresses are standing in scenic poses on a dimly lit stage. One person's face is illuminated.

Theatre performance by the »Die Weltenbrecher« theatre group from Lebenshilfe Lüneburg-Harburg, commemoration 2018.

ArEArEGL 229.

It is a colour photo of gravestones on a lawn. The gravestones are made of concrete. They stand in a row. They are weathered and covered in moss and fungus, the writing with the name and years of life is barely legible. They are also no longer straight in the ground, but lean to different sides.

Cemetery with graves of patients from the state hospital from 1976 to 1982, 2016.

AArEGL.

A cemetery with graves from 1976 to 1982 in the former institutional cemetery and the graves of victims in Lüneburg’s central cemetery are under protection. A grove of honour has been recognised as a landscape monument and will be permanently preserved.

The memorial centre offers workshops and seminars and is also a venue for international meetings lasting several days. The offers are open to everyone and take place in the educational centre for human rights, social psychiatry and encounters, which was built in the old gardener’s house in 2019 and 2020. All of the programmes are aimed at helping people with disabilities and mental illnesses to live a good, valuable life. In 2022, the memorial was honoured by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Culture as a »place of learning for democracy education«.

It is a colour photo. Various young people are sitting and lying on a blanket in the sunshine, reading papers or talking to each other.

Participants in a multi-day »inclusion training course«, spring 2013.

ArEGL.

It is a colour photo. It shows a low, two-storey half-timbered house. It has white walls, red beams and dark green windows with shutters.

Educational Centre for Human Rights, Social Psychiatry and Encounter, August 2020, photographer Anne Meyer.

Psychiatric Clinic Lüneburg.

It is a colour photo. Three people can be seen from an elevated position. They are standing around a table. There are papers on the table, which the people are arranging and sticking on.

Volunteers taking down the permanent exhibition from 2004, 26.11.2021.

ArEGL 238.

The supporting organisation is founded in 2015. People and organisations from civil society become members. A teacher is seconded to the memorial centre in 2016. Since 2017, the memorial work has also been supported by freelance staff. In 2022, a non-profit limited company is founded, whose sole shareholder is the non-profit association. Many volunteers are involved in civil society work. The working group founded in 1999 meets several times a year and actively supports the memorial work.

Since 2019, the memorial has been training schoolgirl guides in cooperation with the Lüneburg History Workshop, who convey the history of Lüneburg under National Socialism on city tours. Since 2023, student guides have also been offering tours of the Lüneburg medical crimes on the grounds of the psychiatric clinic.

It is a colour photo. A schoolgirl was photographed between two people. She is presenting a photo of Otto Snell in a folder. The pupil looks at the people standing around in a friendly manner.

Pupil Guides of the grammar school Herderschule, 2023.

ArEGL.

It is a colour photo. Large poster walls of the exhibition in a white and orange colour scheme can be seen. In front of one wall is a screen with a chair in front of it.

The special exhibition GESCHWISTER was the first to be published simultaneously in analogue and digital form, 24.11.2021.

ArEGL.

Since 2021, there has been a virtual exhibition space in which the special exhibitions are accessible without barriers. Since 2022, all offers have been available via a media station.

In the course of developing a new permanent exhibition, many items and documents of significance to the history of the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home were found, collected and stored in our archive. Much of this has been incorporated into this exhibition.

It is a colour photo. A handcart is parked on the path in front of the water tower. A dusty, historic hand lever lift is lopsidedly loaded onto the handcart.

he hand lever lift was found in the crawl space in house 17 in autumn 2023.

ArEGL.

It is a colour photo. It shows the war cemetery without graves, without plants. Only the wooden cross remains. In front of it is an area of dug up, sandy earth.

ArEGL.

In the course of a planned redesign of the war cemetery in spring 2025, it was discovered when opening individual graves that many graves on the war cemetery were mock graves. The mortal remains found did not match the occupancy plan. This called the war cemetery into question and the search for the graves began.

On 31 August 2025, a documentation centre was opened in the former bathhouse at the water tower. The permanent exhibition »LEBENSWERT« shows how people THOUGHT, DECIDED and ACTED back then. Visitors can find information on every known victim of sterilisation and infanticide in the MEMORIAL room.

It is a colour photo. It shows the water tower photographed from below. Sunshine makes the coloured bricks glow. The sky is blue.

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