Trigger warnings: ableism, audism, dehumanisation, eugenics, forced abortion, forced sterilisation, the holocaust, murder, and Nazism.
This disability pride month, I would like to raise awareness of the Aktion T4 programme and all its victims.
T4 is short for 'Tiergartenstrasse 4', the address where the programme was coordinated.
Aktion T4 was the Nazi's programme to try and eradicate all hereditary disabilities in order to "cleanse" the gene pool.
It started with mandating forced sterilisation and sometimes abortion for people with certain disabilities. This escalated to what the Nazis called "mercy killings," where certain disabled people were murdered, often by medical professionals. Disabled people in healthcare facilities were all evaluated by medical professionals to decide whether or not they were "worthy of life." A red plus sign meant death, a blue minus meant life, and a question mark meant further evaluation was required. The "mercy killings" lead to mass murder via gas chambers, prototypes of the ones that would later be used in the holocaust.
Some sources state that ~250,000 people were killed in the Aktion T4 programme, while others state ~300,000.
Either way, hundreds of thousands of disabled and Deaf people were murdered, countless more were victims of forced sterilisation or abortion, and many victims' families were unaware of what was happening to them.
And yet, very few people have even heard of Aktion T4. I encourage you to take a moment to remember, mourn, and respect the people whose lives were stolen and hurt in this programme.
To everyone hurt by Aktion T4, I hope you are all happy now, wherever you are.