RESEARCHING
DISABILITY
―
CONSTRUCTING
DISABILITY

Hildegard B.

Hildegard B. was born in Berlin in 1922 and grew up under impoverished conditions. She was described as restless and defiant and experienced violence at the hands of her stepfather. Her mother wanted to place her in foster care. In 1934, a public health officer diagnosed Hildegard B. with “congenital imbecility”. The diagnosis was based on “intelligence tests” designed to meet an educated bourgeois knowledge standard. This diagnosis was the most frequent grounds for forced sterilisations under National Socialism, impacting many impoverished and socially marginalised people.

Following her diagnosis, authorities admitted Hildegard B. to the Wittenau Sanatorium. In 1938, she was sterilised by force. She suffered for weeks after the operation. In February 1939, Hildegard B. was transferred to the Meseritz-Obrawalde Asylum in Posen. In June 1941, she was transferred onward. It is highly likely that she was taken to a killing centre and murdered there as part of the anti-disability campaign “Aktion T4”.

Two photographs of Hildegard B. One shows her head and upper body from the front. The other shows her head and upper body from the side.

Photo of Hildegard B. from her patient file, 1937

Federal Archives, Berlin, R179, 6327

This photo of Hildegard B. was probably taken in the Wittenau Sanatorium without her consent. Standardised photos were taken to recognise and compare patients. When this picture was taken, Hildegard B. would have been nearing her 15th birthday.

This photograph shows prints of two hands: one left hand and one right hand.

Prints of Hildegard B.’s hands, 1936

Archive of Max Planck Society, Berlin-Dahlem, Nachlass Geipel, Abt. III., Rep. 048/036, Nr. 235 und 233

Hildegard B.’s handprints were taken at the Wittenau Sanatorium. She was 14 years old at the time. The diagnosis “congenital imbecility” is written on the prints. Georg Geipel examined the handprints. He believed he could find characteristics of the diagnosis in the palm lines.

Georg Geipel

The teacher Georg Geipel (1871–1973) embarked on his career as a scientist only after his retirement. From 1930 on, he worked at the Institute, where he became an expert in dactyloscopy: the study of patterns in human finger-, hand-, and footprints. Geipel deduced alleged “hereditary diseases” from these patterns, using them to categorise people according to “race” or “dis- ability”.

Prints were sometimes taken from people forcibly and without their consent. After 1945, Geipel continued to work at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Genetics and Hereditary Pathology (today the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics).

This photograph shows an older White man sitting at a desk. He is wearing a dark jacket and a white shirt and is looking as a sheet of paper in his hands.
Georg Geipel in old age at his desk, date unknown Archive of Max Planck Society, Berlin-Dahlem, VI. Abt., Rep. 1, Geipel, Georg 1

What does the story of Hildegard B. have to do with us today?

Video commentary by

Peter Mast, Kellerkinder e.V.

2:20 min.

Black and white photo. View of the main building of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity and Eugenics from Ihnestraße.
The main building of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity and Eugenics, after 1936 Archive of Max Planck Society, Berlin-Dahlem, Abt. VI. Rep. 1, Nr. KWI-Anthrop I/4b

Outdoor areaThe Institue

Photograph of three individuals in an examination room. One person wearing a dress or a long white lab coat is taking a picture from the side of a person sitting on a chair. The twin sister of the person being photographed is standing to one side.
A pair of twins being photographed at the Institute, around 1930 ullstein bild

BasementResearch

A photograph of the inner courtyard of Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin. There are many people in the courtyard. Eugen Fischer is standing on the balcony, giving a speech. A large banner with a swastika is hanging from the parapet.
Eugen Fischer at a speech at the Friedrich Wilhelm University Berlin, 1933 Süddeutsche Zeitung Photo/Scherl

Ground floorPolitics

Black and white photo. View of the main building of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity and Eugenics from Ihnestraße around 1933/34, with a swastika flag flying on a flagpole.
The main building of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity and Eugenics, around 1933/34 Archive of Max Planck Society, Berlin-Dahlem, Abt. VI. Rep. 1, Nr. KWI-Anthrop I/4a

Upper floorCrimes

The second image is a photograph of a woman with dark skin, doctoral candidate Irawati Karvé. She is standing next to a table with a row of skulls.
Irawati Karvé with human skulls in the Institute’s “unpacking room”, date unknown Private Archive of Irawati Karvé/Urmilla Deshpande

AtticDehumanisation



IHNESTR. 22
14195 BERLIN

IHNESTR. 22
14195 BERLIN