Hermann Paul Nitsche (November 25, 1876 – March 25, 1948) was a German

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

known for his expert endorsement of the Third Reich's

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

authorization and who later headed the Medical Office of the

T-4 Euthanasia Program (German, ) was a campaign of mass murder by involuntary euthanasia in Nazi Germany. The term was first used in post-war trials against doctors who had been involved in the killings. The name T4 is an abbreviation of 4, a street address of t ...

. Paul Nitsche was born on November 25, 1876 in

Colditz Colditz () is a small town in the district of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C POW camp for officers in World War II. Geography Colditz is situated in the Leipzig Bay, southeast of th ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a ...

. His father Hermann Nitsche was a psychiatrist. He attended elementary school in

Pirna Pirna (; hsb, Pěrno; ) is a town in Saxony, Germany and capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. The town's population is over 37,000. Pirna is located near Dresden and is an important district town as well as ...

(German: ''Volksschule'') from 1882 to 1887. He was condemned to death for

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

for killing over one thousand people, and was guillotined in March 1948 in Dresden.

Career

Nitsche received his medical license in 1901 and a professorship in 1925. Nitsche did not join the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

until May 1933. He was a strong supporter of eugenics and euthanasia and was present at the gassing demonstration at what would become the

Brandenburg euthanasia center The Brandenburg Euthanasia Centre (german: NS-Tötungsanstalt Brandenburg), officially known as the Brandenburg an der Havel State Welfare Institute (''Landes-Pflegeanstalt Brandenburg a. H.''), was a killing centre established in 1939 as part of t ...

in either December 1939 or January 1940. He was driven not so much by Nazi racial ideology as by his own support of racial science and his vision of "progressive medicine". Being well established, Nitsche was no longer motivated by the prospect of career advancement but was rather ideologically committed when he later joined

Action T4 (German, ) was a campaign of mass murder by involuntary euthanasia in Nazi Germany. The term was first used in post-war trials against doctors who had been involved in the killings. The name T4 is an abbreviation of 4, a street address of t ...

Euthanasia

He was deputy director of the

Sonnenstein Clinic The Sonnenstein Euthanasia Clinic (german: NS-Tötungsanstalt Sonnenstein; literally "National Socialist Killing Institution Sonnenstein") was a Nazi euthanasia or extermination centre located in the former fortress of Sonnenstein Castle near Pirn ...

from 1913 to 1918 and director of the institution 1928 to 1939. In 1940 he became deputy director of the

Medical Office (German: ''Medizinische Abteilung'') under

Werner Heyde Werner Heyde (aka Fritz Sawade) (25 April 1902 – 13 February 1964) was a German psychiatrist. He was one of the main organizers of Nazi Germany's T-4 Euthanasia Program. Early life Heyde was born in Forst (Lausitz), on May 25, in 1902, and com ...

, which had a

front organization A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy ...

called the Reich Cooperative for State Hospitals and Nursing Homes (German: ''Reichsarbeitsgemeinschaft Heil- und Pflegeanstalten'') that handled the registration, evaluation, and selection of patients for adult euthanasia. As the T4 program's chief physician, Nitsche was responsible for corresponding with mental health institutions about registering and transferring patients to be euthanized. He succeeded Heyde as head of the Medical Office in December 1941.

Trial and execution

He was arrested on March 11, 1945. His trial took place from June 16, 1947, to July 7, 1947. He was condemned to death for

on the basis of Allied Control Council Law No. 10 for killing over one thousand people. He attempted to justify his actions, saying they were intended to free the sick from pain. He was executed by guillotine on March 25, 1948, in Dresden.

Notes

References

* * Boris Böhm, Hagen Markwardt: ''Hermann Paul Nitsche (1876–1948) – Zur Biografie eines Reformpsychiaters und Hauptakteurs der NS-"Euthanasie".'' In: Stiftung Sächsische Gedenkstätten (Hrsg.): ''Nationalsozialistische Euthanasieverbrechen. Beiträge zur Aufarbeitung ihrer Geschichte in Sachsen.'' Michael Sandstein Verlag, Dresden 2004. . *

Ernst Klee Ernst Klee (15 March 1942, Frankfurt – 18 May 2013, Frankfurt) was a German journalist and author. As a writer on Germany's history, he was best known for his exposure and documentation of medical crimes in Nazi Germany, much of which was concer ...

: ''"Euthanasie" im NS-Staat. Die "Vernichtung lebensunwerten Lebens".'' S. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1983. . * Ernst Klee (Hrsg.): ''Dokumente zur "Euthanasie".'' Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1985, . * Götz Aly (Hrsg.): ''Aktion T4 1939–1945. Die "Euthanasie"-Zentrale in der Tiergartenstraße 4.'' Edition Hentrich, 2. erweiterte Auflage, Berlin, 1989. . * Joachim S. Hohmann: ''Der "Euthanasie"-Prozeß von Dresden 1947. Eine zeitgeschichtliche Dokumentation.'' Frankfurt a.M., 1993 * Thomas Schilter: ''Unmenschliches Ermessen. Die nationalsozialistische "Euthanasie"-Tötungsanstalt Pirna-Sonnenstein 1940/41.'' Leipzig, 1998 * Alexander Mitscherlich, Fred Mielke: ''Medizin ohne Menschlichkeit. Dokumente des Nürnberger Ärzteprozesses.'' Frankfurt a.M., 1960 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nitsche, Hermann Paul 1876 births 1948 deaths People from Colditz Holocaust perpetrators in Germany People from the Kingdom of Saxony Nazi Party members Nazis executed by East Germany by guillotine German psychiatrists Aktion T4 personnel History of psychiatry German people convicted of crimes against humanity Executed people from Saxony People executed for crimes against humanity Physicians in the Nazi Party Executed mass murderers

Career

Euthanasia

Trial and execution

See also

Notes

References