Exhibit 5: Excerpt from the official letter sent to a victim's family
The programme became an open secret even though the personnel tried to conceal these actions such as by falsifying death certificates and sending the ânotificationâ letters (Burleigh & Wippermann, 1991, p.150). The local communities near the killing centers soon became aware of what was happening (Burleigh, 2000, p.394). Also, some of the personnelâs macabre mistakes such as sending two urns instead of one, some relatives being notified of the death of their relative whom they had removed from asylums, hairpins found in the ashes of males and so on increased awareness amongst relatives, and society in general about the programmeâs existence (Burleigh & Wippermann, 1991, p.150). In addition, a sermon by the Bishop of Münster on 3 August 1941 was condemning these actions and had serious political and social aftermath (Burleigh, 2000, p.402).
It is not certain what brought about the cancellation of the programme on 24 August 1941 but it was probably due to a combination of factors. More importantly, the target number of victims had been reached (Klee, 1987, pp. 33ff). By 1 September 1941, 93,251 patients had been killed, out of which 70,273 had been gassed (Burleigh & Wippermann, 1991, p.153).
As in the case of Jews, propaganda was a priority for the regime. The regime used propaganda to try to influence peopleâs opinions about âeuthanasiaâ in many ways. Children were not an exception to this, and Exhibit 6 shows the extent of propaganda, even at schools. It was important that it reached everyone and made them (or at least tried) feel burdened and harmed by asylum patients. Other methods intended to influence public opinion were documentaries and films that stigmatized asylum patients and acted in favour of euthanasia (Burleigh & Wippermann, 1991, p.154). These films were seen by millions of people.
Below is an excerpt from a letter sent to the family of a victim, where the attempt to deceive them becomes clear.
âToday the asylum accounting office received your credit transfer of RM20 intended for flowers for the grave of your little daughter Irmgardâ¦Concerning your little daughter, we can report that Irmgard was still overjoyed with the little coat, and above all with the lovely little dolly, which she had in her arms to the very endâ.