User:Monica&AndreaASL

=Deaf Institutions in Nazi Germany=

State Institution for the Deaf at Berlin-Neukölln
Some of the first schools for Deaf pupils was, the State Institution for the Deaf at Berlin-Neukölln with the location in Prussia. This important institution was found by the son in law of Samuel Heinicke, in 1788. Who was the founder of German deaf education. He also became the training institute for Prussian teachers, that happened in the year of 1811. As the time passed, other provinces send their teacher trainees to this institution. At first, their objective was to learn how to educate deaf students. But later on, during the early period of the Nazi Party, a man named Gotthold Lehmann, who was in charge for making proposals for future university courses to the Prussian State Ministry for Science, Art, and Public Education, started introducing topics with National Socialist racial ideas, and some other teachers were in favor. Some of this topics were the following: Introduction to the Theory of Heredity, Exercises in the Science of Heredity, Eugenics, The science of human heredity and German race cultivation, Contemporary problems in the maintenance of public welfare (heredity, eugenics, sterilization, conservation), The theory of heredity and race hygiene, Hereditary diseases, General studies of deafness, the collaboration of the schools for the deaf in the implementation of the Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Diseases, Environment and hereditary predisposition, View on race hygiene, The theory of human heredity as the basis for race hygiene. All of these topics were approved by the Prussian State Ministry for Science, Art, and Public Education, and later on were cancel by the Ministry for 1933-1935 and 1938-1940. Lehman was in favor of sterilization law and he informed the authorities about the deaf students in his institution, so they could be sterilized, and he encourage the parents of the students to be in favor but some of the parents were against of sterilization, but at the end of the day even the parents that protest about their deaf children to be sterilize, were sterilized either way. Some students were describing the moments and how forced was used against the pupils that resisted sterilization.

Institution in Soest The Provincial Institution for the Deaf in Soest, was another school for the deaf. The director for this institution was Wegge. The students register of the Soest school, however Wegge's himself started a handwritten process to identify most of his students that were "examined for Hereitary health." The pupils that Wegge determined that should be sterilized had next to their names the code A "referral to the Health Authority." Wegge reported around 60 percent of his students for hereditary health reasons. After 1934, they believed Wegge reported on nearly every student. Wegge recommended to the municipal health authority in Dorthmudn that the sterilizations operations be carried out duringthe summer holidays. This avoid circulation of details of the sterilization among the deaf clubs. Wegge also arranged transportation of his students and parents would be informed after the operation had been performed. Parents who had protested for their daughters sterilization, he used an excuse to identify the student as suspicion of hereditary disease. Wegge would not evaluate his students he was just assuming that they had a hereditary disease. .

Institution in Heidelberg The Institution for the Deaf in Heidelberg was also another Institution where deaf students where being reported for sterilization. The director of the Heidelberg school, Edwin Singer is the one to blame for all the reports he summited. Students where threatened if they refused to get sterilize the police will come and get them. Some of the students after the fact that thy where sterilized they wrote letters to the director Singer, asking for an explanation of why they did what they did. Singer years later replied back with a Haughty letter, saying, "The fact hat you have no children should not be seen as a misfortune. Better to have no children than one who is blind or deaf or epileptic". .

Institution of Homberg Homberg Institution was founded on May 1, 1838, as a training college for teachers of deaf students.Oskar Ronigk was a member of the Nazi party and the principal of the instituted. Ronigk reported most of his students as well. In all the Institutes the teachers where in a way force to report their students. Most educators implemented the law of support for sterilization. In other words deaf people didn't have an option whether they agree with the law or refused. Going back to the 1930's deaf people were forced to be sterilized.

In conclusion we were able to see how staff members from the institutes where reporting most of their students, whether they agree with the sterilization law or not. The reason for teachers to report their students was not clear whether they where threaten to loosing their jobs or what was going on. According to another web page in wikipedia from deaf people suffer from sterilization. Being forcibly sterilized effected a lot of people emotionally and mentally. Therefore, victims felt like they had no say because no one was on their side. Most of them felt safe at their schools because they thought someone was able to communicate with them but at the end it seem like they where in danger because all staff members where reporting them. The deaf community did not have a safe place. The only safe place was their home and still the law did not protect them from anything. They where even taken out of their own homes to be sterilized, Nazi government violated their rights. We are able to see how Hitler tried applying the law to everyone who were consider with disabilities. In reality this victims did not have a disability in other words the other part of the world did not want to learn their language.

https://www.ushmm.org/research/publications/academic-publications/full-list-of-academic-publications/deaf-people-in-hitlers-europe
Sterilization of deaf people in Nazi Germany