A chilling wind whispers secrets through the trees. This is Wiesengrund. It’s not the idyllic meadow its name suggests. No. This is a place steeped in sorrow a place where the laughter of children was silenced.
Wiesengrund in Berlin was once a special children’s ward. It was part of a larger psychiatric clinic. It operated independently from 1941. Before that it was part of the Wittenauer Heilstätten. This facility included an educational home a special needs division and a special education school. It also had a neurological psychiatric department and a policlinic.
But Wiesengrund’s history is far from innocent. Dr Ernst Hefter ran the entire clinic. Dr Gertrud Reuter headed the children’s ward. Dr Gerhard Kujath was responsible for another division. He conducted medical examinations and experiments on the children.
Hefter was arrested by Soviet authorities. He was sentenced to ten years for authorizing sterilizations and causing the deaths of children. He died in prison in 1947. Reuter was never investigated. Kujath denied involvement in euthanasia. He later became a respected expert in pediatric psychiatry.
The clinic’s records disappeared after the war. This happened after a criminal complaint was filed. This resulted from investigations into Hefter’s actions. Later research showed this was not true. Records were found. They revealed that 175 children were admitted to Wiesengrund as “Reichsausschusskinder”. These were children deemed unworthy of life by the Nazi regime. Eighty-one of these children died at the clinic. Fourteen more died in an affiliated home.
The last child arrived in January 1945. One child arrived in mid-January 1942. Before the special children’s ward opened 167 children were transferred to Brandenburg-Görden. Nineteen were sent to a T4 gassing facility. One hundred and eighteen died at Brandenburg-Görden. Seven more were sent to other euthanasia facilities and murdered. Many children at Wittenauer Heilstätten endured horrific medical experimentation.
A memorial plaque stands here. It recounts the horrific fate of 66 girls and 109 boys. These children were victims of Nazi cruelty. They suffered experimentation and needless deaths. Their ages ranged from a few months to sixteen years. Annually a wreath is laid to remember them.
Wiesengrund is a stark reminder. It’s a reminder of the horrors inflicted on innocent children. It is a reminder of a dark chapter in history. Let us never forget their suffering. Let us learn from the past to build a better future.