Estebez 1

Charlize Estebez
Mr. Hawkins
Modern World History-P, Period 4
10 April 2016
Euthanasia: The Murder of the Disabled
Hitler, the Fuhrer of Germany during World War II, believed he could accomplish a
perfect race of humans; and disabled people were flaws in his system. He labeled disabled
people as burdens to his new race. Euthanasia, or the painless killing of people suffering from an
incurable or painful disease, was the practice used to kill the disabled under Nazi influence. The
idea of killing the incurably ill was posed well before 1939. In the 1920s, debate on this
issue centered on a book coauthored by Alfred Hoche, a noted psychiatrist, and Karl
Binding, a prominent scholar of criminal law. They argued that economic savings justified
the killing of useless lives (idiots and congenitally crippled)(Website #2). This horrible
practice was soon accepted by Hitler and used to kill around 73,000 mentally and physically
disabled lives.
Euthanasia was first invented and introduced in the United States in the 1920s, but it was
used for patients who had heart and brain issues. The Nazis took euthanasia to a whole nother
level. Like it says on the Holocaust Encyclopedia, In the Nazi context euthanasia was a
euphemistic term for a clandestine murder program. The program targetedfor
systematic killingmentally and physically disabled patients living in institutional settings
in Germany and German-annexed territories(Website #1). Pulling euthanasia from its
original intention, Hitler made something meant to help a destructive cruel murdering process.
Instead of being used with permission of the patient and trained doctors doing the killing,

disabled people were unawarely being put to death for something they had no control of. Before
disabled patients were unaware of the death ahead of them, Public health authorities began to
encourage parents of children with disabilities to admit their young children to one of a
number of specially designated pediatric clinics throughout Germany and
Austria(Website #1). This was originally how the U.S. made euthanasia. Permission was
asked, instead of being done without command. The war undermined the value attached to
individual life(Website #2). World War II brought on a new definition of human life and how it
should be treated. Disabled people were soon seen as faults in a system, instead of valuable lives.
The main disabled target was the disabled children. Like it states in the Holocaust
Encyclopedia, In the spring and summer months of 1939, a number of planners began to
organize a secret killing operation targeting disabled children(Website #1). Children were
believed to be the carriers of Hitlers beliefs. He did not want his plan to be carried out by
children who could hardly carry out a conversation, resulting in the death of 5,000 disabled
children. On August 18, 1939, the Reich Ministry of the Interior circulated a decree
requiring all physicians, nurses, and midwives to report newborn infants and children
under the age of three who showed signs of severe mental or physical disability(Website
#1). Mental and physical disabilities are carried through genes from the parents. This killing of
newborn babies brought guilt on the parents, making them think they were the reason they lost
their child. Many childrens lives were taken for something manageable. Its not like these
diseases were unbearable and burdening; but it was still a flaw in Hitlers eyes, so it was carried
out.
The Tiergartenstrasse 4 Program, or the T-4, was the main plan that was head of all
euthanasia. At first, the T-4 only used lethal injections, but soon the disabled crowd became too

large and needed a bigger and faster way to murder them. As stated on BBC, Under the secret
plan called the 'T4 Program' disabled people in Germany were killed by lethal injection or
poison gas. The T4 Program saw a string of six death camps - called "euthanasia centres" set up across Germany and Austria(Website #3). Just like how the Nazis killed Jews in
camps, disabled people were bussed onto campgrounds that burned or gassed them. Sent into
shower rooms, groups of disabled were killed by poison gas. To determine whether someone
could pass as disabled or abled, Institutions were instructed by the Interior Ministry to
collect questionnaires about the state of health and capacity for work of all their patients,
ostensibly as part of a statistical survey(Website #2). These questionnaires were almost
physically impossible for people with disabilities to answer, so even people with small or minor
disabilities were labeled as disabled. The completed forms were, in turn, sent to expert
assessorsphysicians, usually psychiatrists, who made up review commissions. They
marked each name with a + in red pencil, meaning death, or a - in blue pencil,
meaning life(Website #2). Peoples lives were based on a test result and on the way a physician
read their test. Lies who were stable and manageable were put to death because they couldnt
answer correctly on a questionnaire. This shows how World War II downgraded the value in a
human life, and how someones life was put in the hands of someone whose life was considered
more superior.
The euthanasia program was truly one of the most devastating things signed off on by
Hitler. Lives were put in the hands of doctors based on physical or mental illness. Over 73,000
lives were taken by Nazi doctors and physicians because of the euthanasia program. Like those
who planned the physical annihilation of the European Jews, the planners of the
"euthanasia" program imagined a racially pure and productive society. They embraced

radical strategies to eliminate those who did not t within their vision(Website #1). Lives
were taken that were worth more than a colored check or minus sign. Mental and physical illness
is not a mistake in humanity, but a flaw that is valuable, manageable, and deserving of life and
respect.