ELSA SPARTZ (née MEHLING) (1889–1941)

Elsa Spartz, née Mehling, was born on 8 June 1889 in Würzburg. She grew up with three younger brothers. Nothing is known about her first 18 years of life. Elsa met her future husband Heinrich Spartz between 1907 and 1911. He was originally from Lahr in the Eifel region, had studied at the universities of Berlin, Munich and Würzburg, and received his doctorate in medicine in 1913. They became engaged in 1911, but did not want to marry until after he had received his licence to practise medicine (1912) and completed his doctorate (1913). The outbreak of the First World War thwarted these plans. After Heinrich Spartz was discharged from military service in March 1919, he found a position as a senior physician at the Marienkrankenhaus hospital in Hamburg. Elsa followed him to Hamburg and they married. The marriage produced two children, Karl Heinz (born in 1920) and Felicitas (born in 1922).

Six years later, Elsa fell ill. Her husband was now medical director at the Catholic Mariahilf Hospital in Hamburg-Harburg. On 12 May 1928, Heinrich Spartz admitted her to the Rockwinkel Sanatorium near Bremen for the first time. The reasons were inner restlessness, hallucinations and hearing voices. She was diagnosed with »schizophrenia«. The sparse documentation in her medical records indicates that her first stay was marked by anxiety.

On 19 September 1930, Elsa Spartz ran away during a walk and returned home to Heinrich and her children. She sold her hairpin to get money for a ride home. However, Heinrich Spartz had her brought straight back by taxi. After four years in the sanatorium, Elsa was transferred to a subsidiary facility in 1932. At her request, she was released on a trial basis to her husband and children after ten days. Three days later, Heinrich Spartz admitted Elsa to the Rockwinkel sanatorium for a second time. After her readmission to the sanatorium, Heinrich visited his wife only once.

There are hardly any entries in Elsa’s patient file for the following years. On 29 August 1934, she was transferred to the Lüneburg institution and nursing home because her condition had not changed. She remained a patient there for another seven years. There are only a few records of her stay in Lüneburg.

On 13 April 1941, Elsa Spartz was transferred to the Herborn intermediate institution as part of »Aktion T4«. It is likely that her husband knew the reasons behind this »planned economy transfer«. But he did not save her. On 16 June 1941, Elsa Spartz was gassed at the Hadamar killing centre. Heinrich Spartz also did not survive the war. He died on 25 October 1944 while rescuing bomb victims.