ECKART WILLUMEIT (1928 – 1942)

Eckart Willumeit was born on 21 August 1928 in Celle, the fourth child of master painter Gottlieb Willumeit and his wife Marie Else Willumeit. He had two brothers and an older sister. His parents‘ marriage broke down a few years after Eckart’s birth. His father was a member of the NSDAP in the Celle city council between 1927 and 1933. He did not run for office again later.

The documents state that Eckart developed slowly. He did not start walking until the end of his second year, and did not begin speaking until he was three and a half years old. Overall, Eckart is described as »retarded« and »mongoloid.« The school rejected him, and the special school sent him home again. At the time of his first examination in 1937, his parents were already separated. Eckart stayed with his mother, together with his siblings.

When Eckart was nine years old, his mother complied with a request to appear before the health authorities of the city and district of Celle. The documents do not reveal whose initiative this was. The medical officer came to the following conclusion: »Overall, one has the impression that he is still capable of learning, but his mother does not seem to be able to engage with the child in such a way that success can be expected. In order to prevent the threat of complete mental deterioration, I consider admission to an appropriate institution, e.g. Langenhagen, to be urgently necessary at this point.« The mother was accused of being overwhelmed by the task of supporting her son.

Eckart was then registered by the authorities at the Langenhagen State Mental Hospital and admitted there on 13 August 1937. The separation was difficult for both mother and son. With the help of the nurse, Eckart wrote to his mother in the very first week. A reply letter from his mother has been preserved. The lines reveal that Eckart (»Karlchen«) had previously led a sheltered life. His mother made every effort to maintain contact with her son. A lively correspondence developed between Eckart and his mother. She visited him regularly and took him home with her »on holiday.«

Eckart gradually settled into life in Langenhagen. According to his medical records, he was an obedient boy who caused no particular problems and was »trusting and willing.« From October 1937, he even attended school, learned the alphabet and read individual words. He developed well. In early January 1938, Eckart’s mother learned that he was to be transferred, along with other children, to the institutions of the Inner Mission in Rotenburg. The transfer actually took place on 18 March 1938. According to the file, this change of location set Eckart back considerably. A postcard from his mother also indicates that she was no longer able to visit Eckart without difficulty from that time on.

On 9 October 1941, Eckart was transferred to the »children’s ward« in Lüneburg. A week later, his mother received the following message: »I hereby inform you that your child Eckart Willumeit was transferred here from the Rotenburg institution on 9 October.« The entries made in his medical records in Lüneburg and the course of his stay there indicate that Eckart was almost certainly murdered with the drug Luminal on the grounds of »educational incapacity.« Eckart died on 18 February 1942 at the age of 13.

On the day of his death, his mother was informed of his death by telegram: »Son Eckart has passed away. Funeral scheduled for Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Sanatorium.« He was to be buried on 21 March. But his mother insisted on having Eckart transferred to Celle. The certificate for the transfer states: »[…] the boy Eckart-Adolf Willumeit from Celle died in this institution of catarrh. Pneumonia with Mongoloid idiocy and bdrs. Hilus gland tuberculosis. […] Death was not caused by violence.«