NFC zu H-K-03

FAMILY AND »CHILDREN’S WARD«

Everyday life with a child or young person with a disability was shaped by the special circumstances. As »caregiving children,« siblings took on tasks that were not appropriate for children. The families received little support from outside sources; there was no assistance available. They experienced exclusion, injustice, and violence. The situation worsened during the war. Fathers were often at the front, leaving mothers to fend for themselves.

It is a black-and-white photograph. Ingeborg Wahle is sitting in a large pram with big spoked wheels and curved handlebars. She is stretching her right hand out of the pram and looking towards the camera. In the background, you can see a meadow, a wall and a multi-storey building behind it.

Ingeborg Wahle in a pram, around 1940.

Private property of Renate Beier.

Ingeborg Wahle came from Göttingen. She was the second child of Elfriede, née Fendt, and Willi Wahle. Her sister Renate was born two years after her. Ingeborg had a difficult start in life and her development was delayed. She came to Lüneburg. After her father visited her one last time because he was going to war, she was murdered the next day.

Interview

»Suddenly they were at the door and took Ingeborg away. They just grabbed her and my mother just screamed.«

Interview with Renate Beier, 12 October 2018.

ArEGL.

HEINZ SCHÄFER (1937 – 1942)

It is a black-and-white photograph. Two boys are standing in a garden. The older one is carrying the younger one. The older one is looking kindly at his brother. The younger one is looking at the camera.

Rolf with his brother Heinz Schäfer in his arms. His brother Friedrich is not in the picture because he is taking the photo, around summer 1941.

Private property of Rolf Schäfer.

Friedrich, Rolf and Heinz Schäfer shared a children’s room in their parents‘ house in Bovenden near Göttingen. In the afternoons, his older siblings took Heinz everywhere with them or pushed him around in a little cart. »He was always there,« his brothers and cousin report. There was a garden where the children often spent time. There was also a garden shed where they sometimes ate cake. Heinz was pushed back and forth in a little cart in the garden so that he could get some fresh air.

Interview

It is a black-and-white photograph. The family is standing in a field with bushes in the background. Heinz Schäfer is sitting in a cart with a high handle, wearing a round hat. Next to him are two girls in light-coloured dresses. Next to them are two boys in shorts and pullovers. Behind the cart are a tall middle-aged man, an older woman in a blouse dress and a younger woman in a dark skirt and patterned jacket.

The Schäfer family in the summer of 1941, Heinz Schäfer is sitting in the car.

Private property of the Schäfer family.

Heinz could understand everything and was also independent to a certain extent. Nevertheless, on 15 August 1941, one day before Heinz’s fourth birthday, his father had to report to the Göttingen health authority. The father told the family that Heinz would be cured at the home. The family associated his stay in the »children’s ward« with the hope that he would learn to walk and become healthy. He was admitted on 3 November 1941.

Helga is wearing a checked dress with a large white collar. She is standing somewhat unsteadily and is being held by Ilse on both arms. Ilse is standing behind her and is wearing a light-coloured, ruffled blouse. Helmut is also holding one of Helga's arms. He is slightly taller than her and is wearing a short trouser suit. Everyone is looking at the camera.

Helga Volkmer with her brother Helmut and kindergarten teacher Ilse, circa 1935.

Private property of Marlene Volkmer.

Helga Volkmer’s parents had to work hard on the farm to manage their own farm and pay the rent. Her mother relied on her siblings, the neighbour’s children and occasionally a nursery school teacher to look after Helga. She was pushed around the farm in a pram and watched the other children playing. Sometimes she sat on a stool.

Interview

Parents were often left in the dark; only a few had any idea what went on in a »children‘s ward.« Only in exceptional cases did they accept death as inevitable. Most were actually rather skeptical or even hostile toward admission to a »children‘s ward,« but expected that compulsory treatment would at least lead to an improvement.

The form was filled out on a typewriter. The paper is perforated. There is a note in the top left-hand corner. It is written in blue ink. There is something written in pencil at the bottom. Both notes are only partially legible.

Report by Herbert Wiepel, May 4, 1942.

NLA Hanover Hann. 155 Lüneburg Acc. 56/83 No. 428.

Herbert Wiepel’s parents were an exception. They were among the few who indicated to Dr. Willi Baumert that they agreed to their son’s »redemption« in the Lüneburg »children’s ward.« Herbert was reported by the midwife a few days after his birth. Five months later, the »Reich Committee« ordered his admission. On October 7, 1942, Herbert was admitted to the »children’s ward.« Ten days later, he was murdered.

»Brought to the institution today by his parents. The parents brought their two older healthy children with them. House 25 II. The father said that if the child could not be helped, it would be best if he did not live long.«

Entry in Herbert Wiepel’s medical records.

NLA Hanover Hann. 155 Lüneburg Acc. 56/83 No. 428.

From 1944 onwards, many parents refused to send their children to the »special children’s wards.« As a result, Sections 14, 15, 40, and 55 of the Police Administration Act of June 1, 1931, were interpreted broadly, and children were forcibly admitted to institutions and nursing homes even against their parents‘ will. An appeal against the order could be lodged with the District President of Hanover within two weeks. However, this was ineffective, because the following applied:

»The implementation of my order is not suspended by the appeal, as immediate execution is required for overriding reasons of public interest.«

Police order to Fritz Wehde dated August 26, 1944.

NLA Hanover Hann. 155 Lüneburg Acc. 56/83 No. 418.

It is a black-and-white photograph. There is a large pram in front of a house. Fritz Wehde looks at the camera with interest. Aunt Wilma stands behind the pram with one hand on Fritz. She is wearing a short-sleeved blouse and a skirt. She looks at the camera.

Fritz Wehde in a pram with his aunt Wilma, around 1940.

It is a black-and-white photograph. Fritz is sitting as a baby on a light-coloured blanket in a meadow. He is being held in a sitting position. His grandmother is holding him. He is looking in amazement towards the left edge of the picture. There is a hand in the picture. The hand is holding a teddy bear towards Fritz. The grandmother is wearing a headscarf, a work shirt and an apron. Fritz is wearing a light-coloured jumper and a romper suit.

Fritz with his grandmother and teddy bear, circa 1941.

Private property of Uta Wehde.

The Wehdes were workers and social democrats. Even after the Nazis seized power, they remained opposed to them. Fritz Wehde lived with his family until August 1944. He was lovingly cared for. There are photos showing him with his grandmother and his aunt Wilma. His cousin Helga gave him her teddy bear. Because his parents refused to have him committed, he was forcibly committed by police order.

Interview

Visits were possible until 1944. Relatives recall that it was very noisy in the ward. In summer, there was a blanket so that people could sit on the grass when the weather was nice. In winter, the rooms were unheated. Families also complained that the children quickly became emaciated and sickly. Some parents tried to place their children in other institutions, often without success. Children who received visitors were less likely to be murdered.

In January 1944, Berta Köhler visited her 15-year-old sons Herbert and Willi. She found them naked in bed in a freezing room. The children had to stay in bed from the afternoon onwards and even ate their dinner there. As a nanny, she realized that something was wrong. She wrote letters of complaint and threatened to involve the Reich Health Leader Leonardo Conti. After that, she was no longer granted travel permission and was not allowed to visit her sons.

The letter is written on lined school paper. The paper is yellowed. The handwriting is very even and neat. The letter is one and a half pages long. The reply was also written by hand on the second page of the letter in black pen. The handwriting is much more difficult to read and was written on the blank space below the letter.

Letter to the Lüneburg Institution, January 7, 1944. (Front and back) with reply, January 11, 1944.

NLA Hanover Hann. 155 Lüneburg Acc. 56/83 No. 290.

The visitor card is a red index card with a printed form and table for entries. Entries are made by hand.

Incomplete visitor card belonging to Ingeborg Wahle.

NLA Hanover Hann. 155 Lüneburg Acc. 56/83 No. 443.

Compared to other children, Ingeborg Wahle received frequent visits. When Willi Wahle was stationed at a barracks in Lüneburg, he took every opportunity to see his daughter. Ingeborg’s mother was also able to visit Lüneburg often because her grandfather, who was a conductor, received free tickets. Many of these visits were recorded in pencil in her medical records. When Willi was called to the front and free travel was no longer permitted due to the war, Ingeborg was murdered in February 1945.

Interview

Inge Roxin was from Lüneburg. That meant her older sister Ruth could visit her several times a week. This photo was taken during one of those visits. It must have been taken by a nurse and later given to them as a souvenir.

It is a black-and-white photograph. It is blurred. Ruth is sitting with Inge on her lap. Inge appears to be moving or sliding to one side. Ruth is looking at the camera. They are both sitting on a blanket on a lawn.

Ruth with her sister Inge Roxin, »Children’s Ward,« Lüneburg, 1943.

Private collection Sigrid Roxin | Käthe Wandel.

Families who were unable to visit were no less concerned. They wrote to their children and teenagers, even if they could not read. The medical records are filled with letters and postcards from parents and grandparents to their children. Packages containing food and clothing were also sent.

It is a yellowish, coarse paper. The postcard is written in even handwriting. The postcard is perforated.

Postcard from Ella Schäfer to her son Heinz dated November 13, 1941.

NLA Hanover Hann. 155 Lüneburg Acc. 56/83 No. 373.

Heinz Schäfer’s mother found it very difficult to be separated from her child. She missed him terribly and wrote him and his carers a postcard shortly after he was admitted. The family hoped that he would learn to walk and get well in Lüneburg.

Interview

The father had spared no effort to organize a child-friendly postcard during his service at the front. When the New Year’s greetings for his son Lars Sundmäker arrived at the Lüneburg institution, he was already dead. Lars had been murdered on January 3, 1945.

Field postcard from Carl Sundmäker (No. 57948) to his son Lars Sundmäker dated December 28, 1944, front and back.

NLA Hanover Hann. 155 Lüneburg Acc. 56/83. No. 405.

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