Brain tissue from Nazi euthanasia victims discovered at German research institute.

Alex Schadenberg

Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

T4 euthanasia victims

The Jewish Times reported that the Max Planck Institute is trying to determine whether Jewish brain tissue was among the brain tissue from the Nazi T4 euthanasia program that was recently discovered at the German research institute.

The article by Raphael Ahran published on August 31 in the Jewish Times states:

Unburied remnants of brains taken from victims of the Nazi regime during World War II were recently discovered in a German research institute, where they had been experimented on until the 1960s. The Max Planck Institute told The Times of Israel on Wednesday that it was not yet clear whether any brain parts from Jews were among those found, and said it was in the midst of a full investigation into the case. 

The gruesome case, reminiscent of the monstrous work of Auschwitz physician Josef Mengele, was widely discussed in the Israeli media Wednesday, after Army Radio reported (Hebrew) that Jews were among the men and women whose brains were used for research purposes during and long after World War II. But a spokesperson for the Max Planck Institute said the identities of the victims were still unknown.

According to the article the brain tissue was used for experiments by German neuroscientist Julius Hallervorden who worked at the institute from 1938 until his death in 1965. The article refers to Hallervorden as an enthusiatic Nazi.

The article explains that 700 brain preparations from euthanasia victims were found in the 1980's. The Max Planck Institute decided to bury the ones that were prepared from 1939 - 1945. In 1990 they erected a memorial to the euthanasia victims. In 2001 the institute stated that they received 100 brain preparations from the Hallervorden estate that came from 35 cases between 1938 - 1967. The article then states that 3 of the 35 cases were known to have been victims of the Nazi T4 euthanasia program.

Max Planck institute's communication chief, Christina Beck told The Times of Israel that:

the process of identifying the victims was ongoing. 

“This project will take a long time because it is to be linked with detailed research into the victims,” 

“Only afterwards will we be able to give say to what extent also Jewish patients were victim of the Nazis’ euthanasia murders.”

History is repeating itself under the slogans of choice and autonomy. Legalizing euthanasia or assisted suicide gives doctors, the right in law, to cause the death of their patients.

Further to the slogans, euthanasia for psychiatric conditions, euthanasia for people with dementia and euthanasia/organ donation have now become accepted in Belgium and the Netherlands.