VIRUS Band 19, pp. 277-294, 2021/06/10
Schwerpunkt: Objekte als Quellen der Medizingeschichte
Hartheim Castle was one of six Nazi euthanasia institutions in the German Reich. BetweenMay 1940 and autumn 1944, around 30,000 people were murdered here. These were peoplewith disabilities and mental illnesses but also concentration camp inmates and forced laborers.At the beginning of the 2000s, during excavation work in the garden of Hartheim Castle, severalpits happened to be found in the garden of the castle: on the one hand human bone fragments,ashes, remains of technical equipment and on the other hand personal items, presumably mainlyfrom the possessions of the people who were murdered in Hartheim. Around 8,000 objects wererecovered. They represent an important source for today’s works and tasks at the MemorialSite Hartheim Castle – these are: remembrance, documentation and educational work.
Keywords: Hartheim Castle, National Socialism, Memorial Site, Archaeological Finds, Victims, „unworthy life“, Euthanasia, Remembrance, Documentation, Education
