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Lebenshilfe is the German member of Inclusion Europe.
It is an organisation for people with intellectual disabilities. Lebenshilfe has worked a lot to create a monument They were killed during the Nazi period in Germany. Lebenshilfe wants to keep the memory of these people alive. |
A new Memorial and information site for victims of the Nazi “euthanasia” programme was inaugurated on 2 September in Berlin.
“We finally have a place worthy of commemorating the memory of the approximately 300,000 people murdered because they had a disability, or were suffering from an illness“, commented National Chairman of Lebenshilfe, and Vice President of the Bundestag, Ulla Schmidt.
The monument was erected in Tiergarten Street, just behind the Berlin Philharmonic. The location was chosen due to its historical significance, as it used to house the Planning Office for Action T4, (named after Tiergarten Strasse 4), the movement to eradicate so-called “life unworthy of living”. Prior to the new memorial site, the victims of Action T4 were only remembered by a plaque and an information board. “Never again will people be thought of as ‘unworthy of life’, sought out and killed. Raising awareness of such issues is one of the most important missions of Lebenshilfe,” said Ulla Schmidt.
Lebenshilfe was part of the initiative which saw the creation of the T4 Memorial from beginning to end. It took several years in order to accomplish, time in which T4 survivors and relatives, representatives of various disability organisations, together with the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and Topography of Terror foundations, fought relentlessly: “We have achieved our goal, even if we are not 100% satisfied with everything,” declared Ulla Schmidt.
Ms. Schmidt also said she is delighted that the memorial is following an important Lebenshilfe directive, that to provide visitors with information which is easy to read and understand. “From my many encounters with people with intellectual disabilities I know how much they are kept in the dark about this interesting chapter in our history. We must not keep information about these crimes away from people with disabilities out of a misguided desire to shelter them. What we must do is to facilitate easy to read and understand information about these subjects to them, but with sensitivity and empathy. This is why Lebenshilfe has tackled such issues in the March 2014 edition of its easy-to-read magazine, under the title ‘The Nazi regime murders’.”
