Bethel under National Socialism

Over 3,500 epileptic, disabled and mentally ill residents in Bethel were threatened by the National Socialist "euthanasia" programme. However, there were no deportations or systematic killings.

From spring 1940, Bethel knew that disabled and mentally ill people were being taken to killing centres and murdered there. This "Aktion T4" was based on a secret decree issued by Adolf Hitler on 1 September 1939. With the help of registration forms, which were also sent to Bethel on 14 June 1940, patients were to be categorised according to their diagnoses and information on their ability to work. The director of the institution, Friedrich von Bodelschwingh the Younger, opposed "euthanasia" on Christian grounds. Because Bethel had not completed the registration forms, a state medical commission examined all patients in February 1941. It was expected that 446 men and women could fall victim to "euthanasia". This did not happen, as "Aktion T4" was officially cancelled in August 1941.

Historical research has also investigated the "second phase" of "euthanasia" at Bethel. As the war progressed, the living conditions of the people living in Bethel deteriorated noticeably and mortality rose towards the end of the war. This can be attributed to the malnutrition caused by the war due to the poorer supply situation throughout Germany. In addition, individual Bethel nursing homes were destroyed by air raids. Infectious diseases spread more quickly. The researchers were unable to find any evidence in the historical sources of patients being deliberately starved or left to die in Bethel, as was common practice elsewhere during the second "euthanasia" phase. Mortality only normalised with the easing of the supply crisis from mid-1946.