Lüneburg commemorates Nazi victims: New exhibition reveals shocking fates

Lüneburg commemorates Nazi victims: New exhibition reveals shocking fates

The suffering of the Nazi victims is now given a face in a touching memorial in Lüneburg. The permanent exhibition entitled “Worth of Living” commemorates hundreds of thousands of people who were subjected to terrible injustice under the brutal regime. The memorial, which is housed in the former water tower, sheds light on the life stories of many of those who suffered. Life stories were researched and compiled over a period of three years in order to properly honor the victims. What is particularly shocking is the fact that here in Lüneburg, 440 children and young people as well as around 300 foreign people became victims of the euthanasia murders Borken newspaper reported.

The dark history, which begins with the euthanasia program that was systematically carried out under the National Socialist regime from 1939, is a central part of the exhibition. People with disabilities were viewed as “unworthy of life” and were often targeted for murder from birth and into adolescence. In a secret child euthanasia program that went into effect in the spring of 1939, parents were pressured to take their children to clinics that turned out to be killing centers. Historians estimate that at least 10,000 children died as a result of this program. From January 1940 onwards, under the guise of Action T4, adults also became victims of these atrocities, which led to at least 250,000 deaths US Holocaust Memorial Museum clarified.

A comprehensive picture of the terrible time

The exhibition has also initiated active searches for the families of psychiatric patients. So far there have been responses from around 350 adults and children whose family members were affected by the crimes. According to the organizers, the work of remembrance is of enormous importance in order to bring justice to the victims and to keep their fates in mind. The memorial names all known victims and provides information in multiple languages, including English and Polish, as well as in plain language and audio.

A particularly tragic part of the research is the fact that 75 skeletons of adults and four of murdered children are missing from the war cemetery in Lüneburg. A feasibility study to search for the remains is scheduled to begin in September. This theme is underscored by the grim memory of the violence in psychiatric institutions that lasted until 1947. The Federal Agency for Civic Education highlights that this process was linked to the Nazis' systematic euthanasia actions and methods such as injections and carbon monoxide gas in gas chambers.

A look into the past

The quote from a doctor from Lüneburg during the National Socialist era is particularly poignant: "Does nothing. Too weak. Not fit for action." This frightening verdict illustrates the inhumane way of thinking of medicine and society at the time. While the exhibition sheds light on the terrible events, it is also an urgent appeal that something like this never happens again.

A total of around 2,000 patients from the Lüneburg Municipal Hospital were murdered, including 479 victims of the T4 campaign. To date, there are sometimes large gaps in the processing of the events, so that the suffering of those affected is often not sufficiently discussed. The Lüneburg memorial makes an important contribution to bringing both individual fates and the transgressions of society as a whole into the consciousness of today's generation.