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đź’‰ Aktion T4 and 14f13 Guide: The "Euthanasia" Programs

T4 Authorization

The above image is on Adolf Hitler’s personal stationery, the edict reads:

„BERLIN, DEN 01. Sept. 1939 Reichsleiter Bouhler und Dr. med. Brandt sind unter Verantwortung beauftragt, die Befugnisse namentlich zu bestimmender Ärzte so zu erweitern, dass nach menschlichem Ermessen unheilbar Kranken bei kritischster Beurteilung ihres Krankheitszustandes der Gnadentod gewährt werden kann. — A. Hitler“

English: The wording of the edict: “Reich Leader Bouhler and Dr. Brandt are entrusted with the responsibility of extending the authority of physicians, to be designated by name, so that patients who, after a most critical diagnosis, on the basis of human judgment [menschlichem Ermessen], are considered incurable, can be granted mercy death [Gnadentod]. — A. Hitler”

The two war criminals (aside from Hitler) mentioned in the note are:

đź’ˇ Background: Eugenics and Nazi Ideology

1937 Eugenics Poster

The poster, published by the Nazi Party's Office of Racial Policy, states: “60 000 RM is what this person suffering from hereditary illness costs the community in his lifetime. Fellow citizen, that is your money too.”

The Nazi "euthanasia" programs were rooted in eugenic concepts, which gained global traction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These concepts promoted the idea of enhancing a population's genetic "quality."

  • Pre-Nazi Eugenics: Early 20th-century eugenics movements focused on classifying and targeting marginalized groups (e.g., the poor, developmentally disabled, the deaf, certain racial communities, and homosexuals) for segregation or forced sterilization in multiple nations, including the U.S. and U.K.
  • Nazi Application: Adolf Hitler embraced these ideas, incorporating them into Mein Kampf (1925). After gaining power, eugenic policies rapidly escalated from forced sterilization to segregation, institutionalization, and, ultimately, mass extermination.

🔪 The Euthanasia Initiatives: T4 and 14f13

Aktion T4 and 14f13 were Nazi extermination initiatives focused on eliminating individuals classified as "unfit" or a "burden" on the German state, primarily people with mental or physical disabilities and illnesses.

1938: Buchenwald concentration camp. Physically and mentally ill Jews. (USHMM)

Photo 1938: Buchenwald concentration camp. Physically and mentally ill Jews. (USHMM)

Aktion T4

  • Timeline: Officially ran from 1939 to 1941, though unofficial killings continued until 1945.
  • Target Group: People with physical disabilities, mental illnesses, and other conditions deemed genetically or racially "unfit" for German society.
  • Method: The program utilized gas chambers, pioneering the use of carbon monoxide for mass killing.
  • Name Origin: Named after TiergartenstraĂźe 4, the address of its headquarters in Berlin.

14f13 (“Invalid” Camp Inmates Euthanasia)

  • Timeline: Began in 1941 and continued until the end of the war.
  • Target Group: This was an extension of T4, targeting concentration camp prisoners who were deemed elderly, ill, or unable to work (arbeitsunfähig).
  • Name Origin: Also known as Sonderbehandlung 14f13 (“Special Treatment 14f13”), its name derived from the paperwork code used in the concentration camp inspectorate system.

🔢 Victim Statistics

The true number of victims murdered under these programs is not fully known due to the destruction of records and the continuation of unofficial killings after 1941.

Program/Victim Group Estimated Number Murdered Notes
Aktion T4 (Official Phase) 70,000 to 80,000 People killed in six gas chamber facilities across Germany and Austria (e.g., Hadamar, Hartheim, Bernburg).
People with Disabilities/Illnesses (1939–1945) 250,000 to 300,000 This broader estimate includes the official T4 phase and the subsequent killings in clinics, hospitals, and specialized wards until the war's end.
Aktion 14f13 (Concentration Camp Inmates) 20,000 Concentration camp prisoners murdered between 1941 and 1944 in T4 centers, deemed too sick or weak to perform forced labor.
Forced Sterilizations (The Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Diseases) Over 400,000 Sterilizations carried out under eugenics laws from 1934 onward, preceding the mass murder programs.

🔎 Research and Inquiries

I. Key Centers, Memorials, and Archives

II. Requesting Information

III. Sources and Further Reading

Credits

Compiled by Mark Rabideau, Opa & Professional Genealogist.