Heinz - Living and dying in Bethel
Heinz, born in 1920, was admitted to Bethel in August 1936. His mother sent him to Bethel as she was no longer able to care for him herself. This was not only due to his seizures, but also to his lack of speech and tendency to play pranks. To enable him to be admitted to Bethel, his mother reported more severe symptoms to the authorities, which led to him being placed in the closed Neu-Ebenezer home.
As Heinz was classified as "dangerous to the public" and "hereditarily ill", the hereditary health court in Bielefeld issued an order for forced sterilisation, which was carried out in Bethel in April 1939. In the preliminary assessment in 1941, Heinz was classified as Category I and was at risk of being murdered in the "euthanasia" programme. His mother was also aware of this and offered to take Heinz back at any cost, knowing that children were being murdered in other institutions. The mother's concern and efforts for her son were recognised in Bethel as extraordinary.
In the end, however, Heinz was able to escape "Aktion T4" at Bethel. Nevertheless, death caught up with him. In 1942, he lost 12 kilograms, but was "otherwise in good health." However, after injuring his hand following an epileptic seizure, his condition increasingly deteriorated. He had a fever, boils and refused to eat. He died in December 1942. Cause of death: "Circulatory insufficiency with advanced epileptic infirmity [...]".