Between 1933 and 1945 the Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Leipzig-Dösen witnessed unspeakable horrors. This is the site of unimaginable suffering. Right here a Stolperschwelle a stumbling block memorializes the victims.
The Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Leipzig-Dösen was initially a psychiatric clinic. It opened in 1901. It later became a state institution. During the Nazi era it became a site of systematic murder. The clinic played a chilling role in the Nazi euthanasia program. This program targeted those deemed “unworthy of life”.
The children’s ward was particularly horrific. From 1940 to 1943 at least 624 children were murdered there. Doctors used a method developed by Hermann Paul Nitsche. This involved administering lethal doses of Luminal. They combined this with starvation. The resulting lung infections killed the children. The brains of these murdered children were sent to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Brain Research in Berlin-Buch. The institute was involved in Nazi research. Doctors at the University Children’s Clinic in Leipzig also participated. Georg Friedrich the prosector at the Dösen institution played a key role. He worked with Julius Hallervorden and Werner Catel. This was a collaboration that led to the deaths of many innocent children.
In addition to the children 604 adults were forcibly sterilized. Another 860 disabled people were sent to Pirna-Sonnenstein a killing center as part of Aktion T4. This was a program to exterminate the disabled. The Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Leipzig-Dösen was inextricably linked to these atrocities. It functioned as a vital part of the Nazi machinery of death.
The Stolperschwelle before us serves as a reminder. It is a stark reminder of these crimes. The inscription details the horrors. It remembers the victims of forced sterilization. It remembers the children murdered in the children’s ward. It remembers the adults sent to their deaths. The Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Leipzig-Dösen is a place of somber reflection. It is a place that compels us to confront the past. The past should never be forgotten. Let us learn from this dark chapter. Let us honor the memory of the innocent lives lost here. Let this place be a testament to the enduring power of remembrance.