Carl-Heinz Rodenberg, sometimes known as Karl-Heinz Rodenberg (19 November 1904 in

Heide Heide (; Holsatian: ''Heid'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) Dithmarschen. Population: 21,000. The German word ''Heide'' means "heath". In the 15th century four adjoining villages decided ...

– 1995) was a German

neurologist Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal ...

and

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 ...

. Rodenberg was proficient in the murder of mental patients by the Nazis, the

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 o ...

"euthanasia" program, and from 1943 was scientific director of the

Reich Central Office for the Combating of Homosexuality and Abortion The Reich Central Office for the Combating of Homosexuality and Abortion () was the central instrument of Nazi Germany for the fight against homosexuality in Nazi Germany and the fight against abortion. History The ''Reichszentrale'' was created ...

(''Reichszentrale zur Bekämpfung der Homosexualität und der Abtreibung'').

Life

The son of a physician, Rodenberg studied medicine and received his doctorate in 1930 from the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the worl ...

with the thesis ''Über echte Kombinationen epileptischer und schizophrener Symptomkomplexe'' ("Concerning the real combinations of symptomatic

epileptic Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

and

schizophrenic Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withd ...

complexes"). As a practitioner of medicine, he worked in the university psychiatric clinic, later as a scientific assistant at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

and until 1934 as a doctor in the medical centre of Branitz, near Oppeln, in

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...

. Rodenberg joined 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 ...

(NSDAP) and the ''

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment (military), Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing pro ...

'' (SA) on 20 April 1932. After the Nazi ''

Machtergreifung Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...

'' (seizure of power) in 1933, Rodenberg became an employee of the NSDAP Office of Racial Policy. From 1934 he headed the department of hereditary health for the ''Oberpräsident'' of the Provincial Association of Upper Silesia. From 1936 he worked as a medical specialist in psychiatry and neurology, moving to

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

in 1937. There he led the department for the care of race and heredity in the ''Reichsausschuß für den Volksgesundheitsdienst'' (Reich Committee for the Service of Public Health), was director of the ''Staatsmedizinischen Akademie'' (State Medical Academy), and also judge of the

Hereditary Health Court The Hereditary Health Court (german: Erbgesundheitsgericht, EGG), also known as the Genetic Health Court, was a court that decided whether people should be forcibly sterilized in Nazi Germany. That method of using courts to make decisions on heredi ...

on matters of

compulsory sterilization Compulsory sterilization, also known as forced or coerced sterilization, is a government-mandated program to involuntarily sterilize a specific group of people. Sterilization removes a person's capacity to reproduce, and is usually done throug ...

. Starting on 1 March 1939, Rodenberg worked as a

criminal biologist In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

in the department for the care of race and heredity in the ''Reichsgesundheitsamt'' (Reich Office for Health). From 28 February 1940 to 14 October 1940, Rodenberg was listed as an expert of the

euthanasia program. In this capacity he decided on the basis of questionnaires with the data of the sick and disabled who would live and who would die in the

euthanasia centers. In 1940 Rodenberg tried to join the ''

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe d ...

'' (SS). Being at that time an SA-''

Sturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Sturmbannführer'' (; ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank equivalent to major that was used in several Nazi organizations, such as the SA, SS, and the NSFK. The rank originated from German shock troop units of the First World Wa ...

'' health worker, a report confirmed that Rodenberg had been a long-time

informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informant ...

for the ''

Sicherheitsdienst ' (, ''Security Service''), full title ' (Security Service of the '' Reichsführer-SS''), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence organization ...

'' (SD). The report shows that Rodenberg had "provided the SD with valuable material on many occasions" and "in his work for the SD he has great interest. His placement in the SS ..is therefore important."Documents in the Berlin Document Center on Rodenberg, quoted in Jellonek, ''Homosexuelle'', p. 127. Recognition of Himmler: ibid, p. 161. In the SS, Rodenberg was promoted on 30 January 1944 to SS-''

Obersturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Obersturmbannführer'' (Senior Assault-unit Leader; ; short: ''Ostubaf'') was a paramilitary rank in the German Nazi Party (NSDAP) which was used by the SA (''Sturmabteilung'') and the SS (''Schutzstaffel''). The rank of ''Oberstur ...

''. For the promotion, his "excellent attitude towards life, his spirit of camaraderie and his resolute presence" were noted. In August 1942, Rodenberg was transferred to the ''

SS-Reichssicherheitshauptamt The Reich Security Main Office (german: Reichssicherheitshauptamt or RSHA) was an organization under Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacity as ''Chef der Deutschen Polizei'' (Chief of German Police) and ''Reichsführer-SS'', the head of the Nazi ...

'' (RSHA), to Office group III B 3 (Race and Public Health). On 27 October 1942, he took part in a conference chaired by

Adolf Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ,"Eichmann"
'' Wannsee Conference. The theme of the conference was the

compulsory sterilisation Compulsory sterilization, also known as forced or coerced sterilization, is a government-mandated program to involuntarily sterilize a specific group of people. Sterilization removes a person's capacity to reproduce, and is usually done throug ...

of the " half Jews" (see also:

Nuremberg Laws The Nuremberg Laws (german: link=no, Nürnberger Gesetze, ) were antisemitic and Racism, racist laws that were enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, at a special meeting of the Reichstag (Nazi Germany), Reichstag convened during ...

), which was to be offered as a "voluntary alternative" to deportation. The plan was never carried out. On 1 July 1943, Rodenberg was transferred to RSHA Amt V, ''Kriminalpolizei'' (Kripo), as a speaker on issues of sexual psychology and also took the position of scientific director of the

(''Reichszentrale zur Bekämpfung der Homosexualität und der Abtreibung''). The main job of ''Reichszentrale'' was recording and collecting data about

homosexuals Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

. Friedrich Panzinger described Rodenberg's other functions on 6 November 1944: evaluate "materials to continue the study of the problem of castration" in relation to "

sex offenders A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crime ...

, such as homosexuals, other moral criminals, pyromaniacs, and

habitual offender A habitual offender, repeat offender, or career criminal is a person convicted of a crime who was previously convicted of crimes. Various state and jurisdictions may have laws targeting habitual offenders, and specifically providing for enhanced ...

s", to create the basis for implementing legislative and administrative measures. Since 1941, Rodenberg had written of the castration of homosexuals in medical journals, which even earned him the recognition of

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

on 30 December 1942 for his "compelling articles". In 1941 Rodenberg stated in the journal ''Der öffentliche Gesundheitsdienst'' (Public Health Service) that a "desired pacification of the sexual life, but also in homosexuals, can often be achieved by castration, and only by castration." So far few homosexuals had offered "a sacrifice to the national community" and had been voluntarily castrated, which Rodenberg blamed on a "lack of sense of responsibility". Based on material collected while in the Kripo, in 1942 Rodenberg believed that he could demonstrate that castration was an appropriate measure "to remove criminal homosexual dynamics and at the same time help them", as stated in the journal ''Deutsche Justiz'' (German Justice). Rodenberg's material was referenced by more than 60% of cases of non-gay paedophiles. Rodenberg's efforts to pass a law for the castration of homosexuals before the end of the war were unsuccessful. In October 1942 he justified his proposal with the costs that resulted for the state for the support of homosexuals in

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...

and preventative detention: "if they were castrated, they would be released soon, as most would not present a danger to the community, and they could also be reintegrated into society with the benefit of life". According to Rodenberg,

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

as well would have attributed "great importance to the fight against evil".

Post-war

After the end of the war, Rodenberg lived in

Wald-Michelbach Wald-Michelbach is a municipality in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location The community lies in the Odenwald, 12 km east of Weinheim. The now disused ''Überwaldbahn'' ( railway) runs through Wald-Michelbach. Ge ...

. Because of his participation in the conference of 27 October 1942, the prosecution of

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

and Berlin investigated him in the 1970s, but failed to prosecute. Speaking to the Central Office of the State Justice Administrations for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes in 1986, Rodenberg denied his activities in the

. He stated that studies on the therapeutic success of castration had been limited to moral crimes, not to homosexuals. Rodenberg's claim that he was indifferent to "the way in which homosexual adults appease their sexual desires freely amongst themselves"Correspondence between the ''Zentrale Stelle der Landesjustizverwaltungen zur Aufklärung nationalsozialistischer Verbrechen'' and Rodenberg from March and May 1986, cited in Jellonek, ''Homosexuelle'', p. 127. The ''Zentrale Stelle'' unsuccessfully tried to get an interview between Jellonek and Rodenberg. was contrary to Rodenberg's publications during the Nazi regime.''This article incorporates information from the corresponding article in the

Spanish Wikipedia The Spanish Wikipedia ( es, Wikipedia en español) is a Spanish-language edition of Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia. It has articles. Started in May 2001, it reached 100,000 articles on March 8, 2006 and 1,000,000 articles on May 16, 201 ...

Bibliography

*Burkhard Jellonek: ''Homosexuelle unter dem Hakenkreuz. Die Verfolgung von Homosexuellen im Dritten Reich.'' Schöningh, Paderborn 1990,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodenberg, Carl-Heinz 1904 births 1995 deaths German neurologists German psychiatrists People from Heide University of Marburg alumni Physicians in the Nazi Party Sturmabteilung officers SS-Obersturmbannführer Aktion T4 personnel Reich Security Main Office personnel Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany