Sign of life (memorial)
Lebenszeichen is the name of a memorial for the "euthanasia" victims of the National Socialist killing program Aktion T4 for the murder of people with disabilities and illness. The memorial was designed in 2019 by the graphic designer and art therapist Pauline Ullrich, Ansbach, and implemented as part of an inclusive art workshop at the Schwäbisch Gmünd location . The memorial was initiated and commissioned by Barbara Herzer, Sandra Sanwald and Michael Weiß from the Office for Family and Social Affairs of the City of Schwäbisch Gmünd. The project was financed by Aktion Mensch as part of the Community Inclusive Initiative.
Historical background
From 1939 onwards, sanatoriums and nursing homes were requested by the Reich Ministry of the Interior to fill out registration forms to name their patients and to include information on illness and ability to work on them. Copies of these registration forms were given to three out of 40 state-appointed experts who, on the basis of the brief descriptions noted on them, made an assessment of their ability to work and the prospects of recovery. The reviewers indicated their decision in a box with a black border on the copy of the registration form with a red “+” for “kill” and a blue “-” for “continue to live”. If necessary, you could also enter a "?" If you did not come to a clear decision. These sheets were then presented to one of the senior assessors ( Werner Heyde , Herbert Linden and Hermann Paul Nitsche ), who added a fourth “+” or “-”. When assessed as “unusable” with 4 “+”, the patients were transported to killing centers and murdered there. One of the few completed forms that have been preserved is that of patient Klara Sara from Vienna - there are four red “+” here.
The "Sign of Life" memorial
The basis of the "signs of life" is a wood composite panel measuring approx. 150cm h x 200cm w. The plate is framed all around with a black metal frame to quote the box that was provided on the registration forms for the signs and signatures. Wooden crosses are attached to the frame, the shape of which corresponds to the original crosses on the registration form of Klara Sara. The crosses were freely designed and labeled with acrylic paints and pens by people with and without disabilities in the course of an inclusive weekend workshop under the direction of Pauline Ullrich, Ansbach. Key questions such as: “What is the value of a person / a life?” Were used to generate ideas. The workshop participants converted the former “signs of death” into “signs of life” and refuted the killing argument of “uselessness” through their creative and artistic work ".
Location
The memorial was opened on April 25, 2019 with participation u. a. of the 1st Mayor Joachim Bläse and Kutlu Yurtseven from the project “ Bejarano & Microphone Mafia ” revealed. It is on Grabenallee in Schwäbisch Gmünd.
Individual evidence
- ^ Aktion Mensch - Community initiative inclusive. Aktion Mensch eV website.Retrieved on May 18, 2019.
- ↑ Registration form Klara Sara B. at the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure ( Memento from May 18, 2019 in the Internet Archive ; PDF; 2.9 MB)
- ↑ Memorial unveiled in memory of euthanasia victims. In: Rems-Zeitung , April 25, 2019, accessed on May 18, 2019.