Aachen North Rhine-Westphalia. The chapel and St. Elisabeth-Hospital in and today. After having his leg amputated, he died the next day. During his career he was credited with 38 aerial victories, twelve on the Western Front and 26 on the Eastern Front. Historian Friedlander indicates that the facility's transformation into a killing centre reflected a deeply disturbing aspect of Nazi ideology infiltrating daily life.
The medical professionals and administrative staff at the facility were not isolated from the town; they were part of the community, thus raising unsettling questions about collective responsibility. Between and , records show that over 1, patients were transferred from this facility to other T4 centres, where they were subsequently killed.
These were not faceless numbers; these were often long-standing residents of the town or surrounding areas. The T4 Programme was not an obscure or highly secretive operation but was relatively well-known among the populace.
Townspeople would have been aware of the sudden disappearances and the buses that departed full and returned empty. This highlights how, under totalitarian regimes, ethical norms can be manipulated and suppressed to the point where horrific actions become routinised. Showing posts with label Wuppertal-Barmen. Show all posts. Remaining Nazi Sites in Westphalia 3. Aachen was of significance to the Nazis because it was the presumed birthplace of Charlemagne, first monarch of the First Reich- the Holy Roman Empire,.
It had been the German seat of power for six hundred years, where 42 emperors, kings and queens had been crowned. More than any site, Aachen captured Nazi mysticism about the superior Teutonic race. After the Great War, Aachen had been occupied by the Allies until Aachen was one of the locations involved in the ill-fated Rhenish Republic and was the site of its proclamation in October during the occupation of the Ruhr by troops from France and Belgium from January β It comprised of three territories, named North, South and Ruhr.
