Aktion T4

Aktion T4 was a campaign of mass murder by involuntary euthanasia in Nazi Germany during World War II. The term "Aktion T4" was first used in post-war trials against doctors who had been involved in the killings. The name "T4" is an abbreviation of Tiergartenstraße 4, a street address in the Berlin borough of Tiergarten, where the Chancellery department responsible for the program was set up in early 1940. This department recruited and paid personnel associated with the T4 program.

Background

Under the Aktion T4 program, certain German physicians were authorized to select patients deemed incurably sick after a thorough medical examination. These patients, who were often disabled, mentally ill, or otherwise deemed "unfit" by the Nazi regime, were then administered a "mercy death" (Gnadentod). The program was an extension of the Nazi's eugenics policies, which sought to create a "racially pure" society by eliminating those they considered undesirable.

Implementation

The Aktion T4 program began in 1939 and initially targeted children with disabilities. As the program expanded, adults with disabilities and mental illnesses were also included. Patients were taken from their homes or institutions and transported to one of six euthanasia centers across Germany and Austria, where they were killed, usually by lethal injection or gas. Their families were often informed that their loved ones had died from natural causes, and the true nature of their deaths was concealed.

In total, it is estimated that between 200,000 and 300,000 people were killed under the Aktion T4 program.

Public Response and Cessation

Although the program was kept secret, information about the euthanasia campaign eventually leaked to the public. Some churches and members of the public openly protested against the program, leading to Hitler's order to halt the euthanasia campaign in August 1941. However, the killings continued in secret, and many of the personnel involved in the Aktion T4 program went on to participate in the Holocaust, applying their experience in mass murder to the extermination of Jews and other targeted groups.

Aftermath

In the years following World War II, many of those involved in the Aktion T4 program were put on trial for their involvement in the mass killings. Some were sentenced to death, while others received prison sentences. The trials helped to expose the extent of the Nazi regime's eugenics policies and the atrocities committed under the guise of "mercy killings."

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