In the summer of 1939, Adolf Hitler ordered two SS officers to organise the murder of the incurably ill. He wrote: ‘Reichsleiter Bouhler and Dr. med. Brandt are instructed to broaden the powers of physicians designated by name, who will decide whether those who have - as far as can be humanly determined - incurable illnesses can, after the most careful evaluation, be granted a mercy death.’
These two Nazis set up a large-scale ‘euthanasia’ or ‘mercy killing’ programme: children and adults suffering from incurable mental or physical conditions could in some cases be murdered. The Nazis considered these people a threat to the health, strength, and survival of the German people. After all, they were unable to work and, according to the Nazis, taking care of these people simply cost too much money.
The doctors involved sent questionnaires about patients’ health and capacity for work to institutions and nursing homes. The real reason behind the questionnaires was not revealed. The completed forms were used to determine which patients qualified for ‘euthanasia’. These patients were then picked up and taken to hospital. From here, they were taken to euthanasia centres and killed within the next 24 hours. They were then cremated there. The families of the deceased received death certificates with false causes of death, such as pneumonia or appendicitis.
However, the euthanasia programme did not remain a secret for long. The death certificates were not always credible, the smoke of the crematoria in the euthanasia centres was a give-away, and there was no trace of the patients. After protests from a number of church leaders and from the population, Hitler stopped the programme on 24 August 1941. By then, 70,000 people had been murdered. However, the programme was continued in secret, and the murder centres were afterwards also used to kill prisoners.
The Nazis tried out different methods and, in consultation with Hitler, decided on carbon monoxide gassing. Special gas chambers were built for the purpose. Many of the perpetrators later used their know-how and experience in the mass murder of Jews in Eastern Europe.
Because of the address of the Berlin headquarters, Tiergartenstrasse 4, the mass murder of the incurably ill became known as Aktion T4.
