Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This study elaborates on the history of race theory and eugenics in Germany which, during the National Socialist era, led to the involuntary sterilization and subsequent euthanasia of the terminally ill as part of Aktion T4. It analyses the propaganda promoting euthanasia and the response by the Catholic Church which was able to mobilize German society, preventing the continuing mass murder of the terminally ill. When Aktion T4 came to an end, however, the killings continued secretly up until the end of the war as Aktion 14f13 code-named “Special Treatment” (Sonderbehandlung), aimed at liquidating prisoners in concentration camps who were incapable of working. Taking the example of the clergy from the Czech Lands and elsewhere, imprisoned in Dachau and selected for transport to the euthanasia center in Hartheim, the study demonstrates how this site operated and the culprits among its staff.
Source: Studia theologica
DOI: 10.5507/sth.2025.030
Author: Stanislava Vodičková
Institution: Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes
Language: English
Topic: Medical History and Research
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7148299202