NFC zu H-P-06

VICTIMS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD

The killing of sick people was a murder of sick people from all over the world. The first victims were sick people from the German-occupied territories. Thousands of mentally ill forced labourers, prisoners of war and refugees from abroad were also murdered in the German Reich, especially in »Eastern worker departments«. In the months before the end of the war, many foreign sick people were gathered in »foreigners‘ collection centres« and transported in groups to killing centres and occupied territories to be killed.

This world map shows where the international victims of the Lüneburg murders of the sick came from.

PATIENTS FROM ABROAD

From 1940, the number of foreign patients increased. In 1943, »Eastern workers‘ wards« were created. From then on, sick people of German and foreign origin were housed separately.

From June 1944, the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home took on the task of a »foreigners‘ collection point«. By August 1945, hundreds of sick people from at least 24 countries had been admitted. Among them were also war refugees. Over 90 did not survive their stay. At least 180 sick people of foreign origin were transported to an unknown destination, where they were murdered.

After Max Bräuner was decommissioned on August 24, 1945, the care of foreign patients hardly improved. By 1950, at least 50 more patients of foreign origin had died as a result of continuing inadequate care. Sick people of foreign origin were also murdered at Lüneburg Municipal Hospital. 52 cases are documented.

The diagram shows how many patients of foreign origin were in the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home at what time and died there by 24 August 1945; in total there were over 90 who did not survive their stay.

The leaflet is yellowed. It is typed on a typewriter. The various groups of foreign workers are listed primarily according to their alleged ethnic affiliation.

Leaflet on the treatment of foreign labour deployed in Reich territory, 1943.

City A H, 1-HR-23-00381.

The »Instruction sheet on the treatment of foreign labour deployed in the Reich« illustrates the thinking of the National Socialists. It describes the conditions under which forced labourers deployed in the German Reich had to work and live. It divided those affected into different groups, to which different »values« were ascribed. Forced labourers of Eastern European origin were particularly marginalised and disenfranchised. This also continued in the extremely poor health care.

Complete leaflet

It is a black-and-white photograph. It was taken from above. It is slightly blurred. There are three-storey brick buildings. The upper floors are plastered. Gardens can be seen around the buildings.

House 13 and House 15 (in the background). Photo album of the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home, around 1950.

ArEGL 109.

In the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home, the »Ostarbeiter department« for women was housed in House 16 and the »Ostarbeiter department« for men in House 15. Both departments became the »foreigners’ collection centre«. Refugees from Belgium and the Netherlands were also housed there. Their friendliness towards Germany did not protect them from neglect and violent death.

The decree is typed in small letters. The page is slightly yellowed and worn.

Excerpt from the circular issued by the Reich Minister of the Interior on 6 September 1944.

BArch R 1501/3768.

From May 1944 onwards, forced labourers who were ill and unable to work for more than six weeks were no longer sent back to their country of origin. Instead, they were transferred to the relevant »foreigners‘ collection centre«. Two to three days after their arrival, they were transported outside the German Reich in a collective transport and murdered there. A total of eleven institutions were selected that already had experience in the field of euthanasia.

Entire decree

The »foreigners‘ registration office« in Lüneburg was officially only responsible for Lower Saxony and Bremen, but in reality, people came from all over northern Germany.

Entire decree

The decree is written on the letterhead of the Reich Minister of the Interior. The paper is yellowed. The decree is typewritten.

Excerpt from the circular issued by the Reich Minister of the Interior on 17 February 1945.

BArch R 1501/3768.

The admission register of the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home contains only incomplete entries on the collective transfer of patients of foreign origin to the Lüneburg »foreigners‘ collection point«. Many of the forced labourers transferred to Lüneburg were never officially registered.

Patients were transferred from these hospitals and nursing homes to the »foreigners‘ collection centre«:

Bremen
Göttingen
Gütersloh
Haina
Hamburg-Langenhorn
Hannover-Langenhagen
Hildesheim
Königslutter
Merxhausen
Osnabrück
Schleswig-Stadtfeld
Wehnen

Some patients also came directly to Lüneburg from their places of work.

The patients were not recorded in the books of the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home either, and only appear incidentally in documents, for example as »10 Russians«. The information in the admission books is therefore incomplete.

It is a black-and-white photograph. It is yellowed. It shows a view of the building. The path is lined with trees. The building is a dark brick building with light-coloured lattice windows. It has three floors. There is a pointed bell tower on the roof.

Wehnen Sanatorium and Nursing Home, main building, 1934.

Wehnen Memorial Association

According to the records, the transfer from Wehnen was the largest collective transfer to Lüneburg. Without exception, they were Polish, Russian and Ukrainian forced labourers with their children who were brought from the Wehnen sanatorium near Oldenburg to Lüneburg on 14 December 1944. They were to make room for German patients. Thirteen forced labourers from this collective transport died, including children such as Ilja Matziuk.

»[…] In my opinion, it is completely unacceptable that the accommodation of these Russians in the Oldenburg sanatorium in Wehnen means that the necessary beds are not available for Germans.«

Medical officer Kaltenpoth, cited in: Harms, Ingo: »Wat mööt wi hier smachten« (What are we suffering here?). Starvation and »euthanasia« in the Wehnen mental hospital 1936–1945, Oldenburg 2008, p. 266.

StAO 136/16141, p. 18.

The water tower is made of brick and has a half-timbered upper section. It has four floors. It is square in shape and has a flat hipped roof. It is surrounded by other brick buildings. The tower towers above the surrounding buildings. There is a single tree in front of the tower.

Wehnen Sanatorium and Nursing Home, water tower, 1934.

Wehnen Memorial Association

The medical assessment is a form. The form has been filled in by hand. The paper is yellowed.

First page of the form for assessing the working capacity of forced labourer Kusima Teslenko, completed by the camp doctor in Hitzacker, 1 May 1944.

StadtALg, PSLG-S, 100.

The assessments of the patients varied depending on their origin and the attending physician. Gustav Marx made detailed entries, ordered life-sustaining measures and monitored body weight. Rudolf Redepenning considered it important to assess the patients‘ »fitness for work« or »fitness for duty« for the health insurance company and the employment office. For this purpose, he used a form that did not provide for discharge.

Entire form

It is striking that the preserved files of foreign patients show almost no effort whatsoever to inform their families. Only in rare cases is there any correspondence with relatives. Often, they still do not know that their family member was admitted to the Lüneburg sanatorium and died there violently.

There were cases where camp doctors referred forced labourers directly to the »foreigners‘ collection point«. In the case of 17-year-old Tadeusz Cebula, this was an attempt to save his life. The doctor at the forced labour camp of the Rheinmetall-Borsig-Werke in Unterlüß could not have known that this would mean Tadeusz Cebula’s death. The Ukrainian forced labourer Katharina Kunka, who was brought to Lüneburg with him, also died.

The pre-printed prescription form has been filled out by hand. In blue ink. The handwriting is lively.

Medical referral from company doctor Hartung on a prescription pad dated 18 January 1945.

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

»is highly mentally deficient and cannot be accommodated in the camp community due to illness. His placement in a sanatorium and nursing home is necessary.«

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

The document is printed on yellow paper. It is typed and signed.

Death certificate of Franciszek Wajsen, 24 April 1945.

NArolsen Archives.

Many female forced labourers can only be identified through their death notices, as deaths were always recorded. However, administrative staff often did not spell the names of the deceased correctly. For the forced labourer Franciszek Wajsen, the surviving documents contain the following different spellings of his name:

Franz Weise,
Franzischuk Weisen
Franzischek Weisen
Franz Waisen
Franz Wajsen
Franzizek Waysen
Francziszek Waysen
Franciszek-Józef Wajsen
Franciszek Józef Wajsen

Only the last form is correct. His name is spelled incorrectly on his death certificate and gravestone. On the grounds that he was a »foreigner«, no attempt was made to obtain his birth certificate.

Interview

It is a yellowed letter. It has been typed on a typewriter. The sender is the "T4" headquarters in Berlin. In the middle is a stamp indicating that all mail to forced labourers should be forwarded to Linz, because the clearing house is now located there.

Letter from the Central Clearing Office to the Lüneburg Sanatorium and Nursing Home dated 16 June 1944.

NLA Hanover Hann. 155 Lüneburg Acc. 56/83 No. 8/2.

The forced labourers Juchim Schnal and Franciszek Wajsen are among the few victims of the »foreigners‘ collection point« whose families learned of their fate after many decades. Both were underfed and neglected by Rudolf Redepenning. He did nothing to save their lives. His notes in Juchim Schnal’s medical records express how much he despised and looked down on the exhausted forced labourers coming from the labour camp.

Interview

It is a black-and-white drawing. It is an oval medallion. Juchim Schnal looks straight ahead with a serious expression. 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.

These are the obituaries of all those who fell ill. They died in the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home, most of them violent deaths. Most of the patients came from Russia and Poland. There are no obituaries for those patients who were transported there in a collective transport to be murdered.

The death notice is a pre-printed form. The paper is slightly yellowed. It has been filled out on a typewriter. On the back, there is a lengthy note written on a typewriter. The death notice is signed by hand.

Obituary notice for Adam Rabschick, 24 January 1942.

StadtALg, PSLG-S, 87.

It is a black-and-white photograph. It is very yellowed and faded. He is an older man wearing a sturdy dark jacket. He has a moustache and short hair. He is looking at the camera.

Adam Rabschick, around 1930.

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

Every deceased person received an obituary notice. For every question on the left-hand side of the page, there was an answer on the right-hand side. For deceased persons of foreign origin, many lines remained blank. Often, not even their date of birth was known.

Since the deceased came from abroad, it was simply claimed that no further information could be obtained. It was also said that the person had no relatives. Often, individual details were guessed, such as the country of origin or religion. As a result, much of the information on the obituaries is incorrect.

Since there are often no medical records, the few and often incorrect details on death notices are often the only information available about the individuals in question. This is not the case with Adam Rabschick.

The »foreigners‘ collection point« in Lüneburg was not only the final destination for sick forced labourers who were no longer able to work, but also a stopover. On 11 June 1944, 31 forced labourers were transferred, on 20/21 November 1944 at least 82, and on 20 December 1944 at least 67. It is highly likely that they were murdered in the German-occupied part of Poland.

The note is typed. The page is densely written. The paper is very worn and torn at the edges.

Confidential memo dated 25 September 1948.

NLA Hanover Lower Saxony 171 Lüneburg No. 29889.

Rudolf Redepenning kept written records of the transfers and deaths of sick people. His list is incomplete. The transfers in June and November 1944 are missing. There is also no evidence to support his figures. However, as it is the only numerical record, it was included in later public prosecutor investigations. In all criminal investigations, the transfer of »foreigners« was never questioned or pursued further.

On 8 June 1944, Jadwiga Krulikowski was transferred from the Osnabrück sanatorium to the »Ausländersammelstelle« (foreigners‘ collection point). On 11 June 1944, she was transferred with 30 other patients and murdered.

The identification card is an index card. It is made of pink cardboard. All personal data is recorded on it. At the bottom right is a black-and-white portrait photo of Jadwiga Krulikowski. She appears to be about 23 years old in the picture. She is wearing a floral summer dress with a badge pinned to it with a "P" (for Polish). Her hair is pinned up and she is wearing earrings. The clasp of her collar is covered by an oval brooch. She is smiling. The card states that she has been a forced labourer since October 1942. Her occupation is listed as domestic helper and seamstress.

Identity card belonging to Jadwiga Krulikowski, 1942 to 1944.

Sulingen City Archives.

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

NLA Stade Rep. 274 Stade No. 80.

Among the 31 forced labourers who were transferred to an unknown location on 11 June 1944 to be murdered was the Russian doctor Galina Radomska.

It is a black-and-white photograph. It was taken from the air. The view looks diagonally down onto a cluster of large, multi-storey buildings. Some are close together, while others are separated by open spaces. There are many trees around the buildings. At the back right of the picture, there is a flat, elongated building between the trees.

Aerial view of Lüneburg Hospital, approx. 1950.

Lüneburg City Hospital.

Sick barrack

Between 1940 and 1945, at least 115 patients of foreign origin died at Lüneburg Municipal Hospital. There were 34 women and 81 men. They came from 17 European countries. Most of them were forced labourers. At least 52 patients were most likely murdered. The murders were carried out between 1943 and 1945 in a »sick barracks for Eastern European workers«.

The forced labourers murdered in the municipal hospital were 13 women and 39 men. The youngest victim was one day old. They had mainly lived in communal camps, in most cases in the Alt Garge camp. About half of all murder victims allegedly died of cardiovascular failure, and one in three of pulmonary tuberculosis. Often, both were given as the official cause of death.

Letter from the building inspectorate dated 12 December 1942 regarding the construction of a hospital barrack.

City Hospital | Gesundheitsholding Lüneburg GmbH. Construction project file. Copy ArEGL.

In December 1942, the building permit was granted, and by the end of February 1943, a barrack had been erected at a cost of 5,000 Reichsmarks. This allowed the forced labourers to be cared for separately from the sick Germans. From then on, the »sick barrack« became the site of the murder of the sick.

These are the obituaries of all patients who, with near certainty, died violent deaths at Lüneburg Municipal Hospital.

The murders were described as follows by Günter Schulz, a doctor and one of the perpetrators responsible:

»[…] In the foreigner barracks […] we had patients whose condition was hopeless, who were about to die and who were in great pain. We gave them injections that could and should alleviate and possibly hasten their death. […] We gave them morphine or its derivatives. […] Death usually occurred a few hours after the injection.«

Excerpt from the interrogation transcript of Günter Schulz dated 17 October 1945.

Archive of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Inv. No. 13093.

It is a black-and-white portrait. It is yellowed. He is looking directly into the camera. He appears 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.

Gjuragi Sokcevic was housed in the Alt Garge community camp in the district of Lüneburg. He was admitted to Lüneburg Municipal Hospital due to tuberculosis. There, on 18 June 1943, he was murdered by Günter Schulz with an overdose of morphine.

This map shows the »foreigners‘ collection points« that were set up in the German Reich in 1944 and names the catchment area. The amount of information available for each location varies. Intensive research is still being carried out, which is why all information provided here is provisional at this stage.

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