In a recent parliamentary session, the German Bundestag made a significant move to acknowledge the victims of Nazi “euthanasia” and forced sterilization as persecuted by the Nazi regime, nearly eight decades after the end of World War II. This move is long overdue, as the Nazis had brutally murdered over 300,000 people, including at least 5,000 children, with disabilities or mental illnesses in so-called “Heilanstalten” (health institutions).
The majority of the victims were gassed with carbon monoxide, while others were poisoned or left to starve. Children were used in medical experiments or received lethal doses of morphine or Luminal, a barbiturate used today for anesthesia and epilepsy treatment.
The Nazi regime’s ideology was rooted in social Darwinism and the notion of “lebensunwertes Leben” (life unworthy of life). They claimed that certain individuals were a burden to society and that their elimination would be a mercy. This ideology continued to influence post-war Germany, with many Nazi doctors and officials being acquitted or receiving light sentences for their crimes.
In the 1960s, a Bundestag committee argued that the sterilization of people with disabilities was not a crime, as it was part of a “health law.” This attitude was not unique to the West, as the Soviet Union and its satellite states also failed to recognize the victims of Nazi eugenics as persecuted by the regime.
The parallels between the Nazi regime’s ideology and contemporary rhetoric and practices are striking. Today, people with disabilities and those deemed “asozial” or “arbeitsscheu” (antisocial or work-shy) are still stigmatized and marginalized. The concept of “Pflichtverletzungen” (breaches of duty) in the German social welfare system allows for the withdrawal of benefits from those who are deemed to be shirking their responsibilities.
The German Bundestag’s recent move to acknowledge the victims of Nazi eugenics is a step in the right direction, but it is essential to also address the systemic issues that perpetuate the marginalization of certain groups in contemporary society.