HERTA LEY (1930 – 1942)

Herta Ley was born on 9 October 1930 in Westrhauderfehn, in the district of Leer. At the age of two or three, she contracted meningitis. Her father, Wessel Ley, was a labourer and farmer. Little is known about her mother, Gesine Ley. She worked on the farm and took over the running of it in 1939. Herta had a sister, Ilse, who was two years younger.

Herta Ley was admitted to the Rotenburg institutions of the Inner Mission at the age of almost five. The admission was arranged by the district doctor, who diagnosed »congenital mental deficiency of the most severe degree« during a routine examination. Upon admission, Herta’s parents stated that she could speak a few words, walk, sit and stand, but these statements were doubted and she was diagnosed with »idiocy.« The medical reports also lack descriptions such as »untidy,« »cannot eat alone,« etc., so it can be assumed that Herta was indeed somewhat independent when she was admitted.

Herta was granted leave at Christmas and visited occasionally by her mother. However, Herta’s condition deteriorated at the Rotenburg institution. She forgot how to walk and talk and lost her independence. Apparently, she was not encouraged but neglected instead. Shortly before her transfer to Lüneburg in 1941, the final assessment read: »A very low-grade girl who hits and bites herself.« Two months later, the Lüneburg doctor Willi Baumert wrote about Herta: »Completely low-grade and obviously incapable of learning.«

In November 1941, a letter was sent to her parents informing them that their daughter was suffering from bronchial catarrh and had a high fever. There is no mention of this in the file. Presumably, Herta was not ill at all, but her parents were sent the letter by mistake.

According to the file, Herta first fell ill with a fever at the end of January/beginning of February 1942. She died on 3 February 1942 at the age of eleven. The official cause of death stated in the obituary was »bilateral pulmonary tuberculosis,« although there is no mention of this in her medical records. Willi Baumert referred to Herta’s alleged previous tuberculosis infections. However, these had never existed. This is evident from two medical reports written in 1936 and 1940. Herta Ley had been examined twice for suspected pulmonary tuberculosis, but both examinations were inconclusive. The 1940 examination even stated: »The X-ray findings did not indicate tuberculosis, but suggested a heart defect, possibly congenital. […] Lung fields are normal.«

On the day of her death, a telegram and a detailed letter were sent to her father, who was doing his national service at the Löningen camp at the »As I already informed you by telegram, your daughter Herta Ley passed away peacefully at 3:30 this morning.« She was buried three days later in the institution’s cemetery, now known as the North-West Cemetery.

In the criminal trial for murder against Max Bräuner, Willi Baumert and the nurse of the girls‘ ward, Dora Vollbrecht, from 1962 to 1966, Herta’s medical records were presented as evidence on 12 June 1963. However, during her interrogation, Dora Vollbrecht could no longer remember the killing of many of the children named. In 1966, Dora Vollbrecht was released from prosecution, and in 1980, the criminal proceedings against her were finally discontinued due to her inability to stand trial.

After Herta’s death, her mother Gesine had two more daughters, Wilma and Hanne. Because Hanne was born on the same day as Herta, she was initially given the name Herta. Erna, Gesine’s sister, prevented this. She had looked after Herta before she was admitted to the institution and later told people about her. Her sister Hanne helped to come to terms with Herta’s fate.