Weeding the garden: Euthanasia, National Socialism, and Germany, 1939-1945

"""Weeding the Garden"" draws from contemporary German and non-German observations, Nazi party and German state documents, and additional secondary sources to survey the development, execution, and conclusion of the ""euthanasia"" program which used bullets, carbon monoxide, injections, and starvation to kill thousands of insane, mentally retarded, and physically handicapped Germans during World War II. This dissertation focuses on two major interpretive questions surrounding one of the first Nazi programs of genocide; first, what were its origins and, second, what reactions did it provoke. The euthanasia program originated from a set of beliefs rooted in elements of the eugenics movement, Nazi notions of genetic vitality and social order, and the unique opportunities and demands presented by the war. The idea that some people were inferior was not original but the Nazis carried the idea to a logical conclusion of seeking to eradicate those they deemed inferior; the idea was a necessary ingredient for recognizing and planning for the opportunity to execute such a program. Once the program was underway, even though it was supposed to operate behind a veil of secrecy, many Germans reacted negatively. Frequently moral objections voiced by German clergymen have been credited with forcing the program's modification or suspension but the argument presented here suggests that the unexpected furor raised by supporters of the Nazi movement was the primary force which caused changes in the program which lasted in one form or another until the war's last weeks."

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

History

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Thornton, Larry Patrick

Contributors dc:contributor

• Schroeder, Paul W.

• History, European

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 1991 Thornton, Larry Patrick

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

AAI9124499
(UMI)AAI9124499

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/21232