Disability Studies and the Legacies of Eugenics

Petra Fuchs: Synopsis

July 23, 2004 - Summary of DAAD Session

Today, Petra Fuchs visited our group. Fuchs is a scholar in disability history and pedagogy who completed her doctorate at the University of Heidelberg. She has published two books: “Körperbehinderte” zwischen Selbstaufgabe und Emanzipation: Selbsthilfe – Integration – Aussonderung [“Physically Disabled” between Self-Abandonment and Emancipation: Self-help – Integration – Selection] (Berlin: Luchterhand, 2001), and Hilde Wulff (1898-1972): Leben im Paradies der Geradheit [Hilde Wulff (1898-1972): Life in the Paradise of Straightforwardness] (Münster: LIT Verlag, 2003).

Fuchs is currently working on a research project funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [German Research Collective] and supported by the Bundesarchiv. The research staff involved with this project are currently in their 3rd year of research, in which they are analyzing 3,000 of the 30,000 still existing T4 patient files. The aim of this project is to not only collect statistical data regarding those killed in the T4 Program, but also involves creating individual biographies of murdered individuals when possible. Discovered in a storage room after the fall of the Berlin wall, the T4 files have only been open to researchers since 1999 and they remain highly confidential; any published report of these files may not contain names of the victims.

During her visit, Fuchs reacted to this strange rule in comparison to publishing the names of victims of the “Holocaust” killings. Whereas publishing the names of Holocaust victims is incredibly important in terms of honoring that victim and his/her family members, the opposite is true for victims of the T4 murders. Because of the stigma associated with disability and institutionalization, she suggested, many family members have difficulty associating with the T4 victims. She also felt that it may have to do with the hierarchy of victimization with respect to the Holocaust. Here again, disabled people seem to be at the bottom of the hierarchy – both because of and leading to ignorance and discrimination. She stated, “it’s a taboo, especially for relatives.”

However, many relatives do contact the Bundesarchive with respect to finding lost family members who were institutionalized at this time. Fuchs estimated that about 60% of the requests for T4 files come from relatives. This has allowed her research group to complete more complete biographies in certain instances. She feels this project, like all inquiries, is important in informing present moments, controversies, and discussions regarding disability. And although she finds dealing with the history of eugenics understandably difficult, she asserted its necessity.

Sharon L. Snyder, Ph. D.,
Director, "Legacies of Eugenics" Summer Institute, Einstein Forum
Assistant Professor, Interdisciplinary Ph. D. Program in Disability Studies
Department of Disability and Human Development
University of Illinois at Chicago (MC 626)
1640 W. Roosevelt Rd. #207
Chicago IL 60608-6904 U.S.A.
E-mail: ssnyder@uic.edu Phone: (312) 413-1975 (Voice) Fax: (312) 996-0885