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Margareta Liebitz * 1884

Averhoffstraße 5, ggü. Nr. 6 (Hamburg-Nord, Uhlenhorst)

HIER WOHNTE
MARGARETA LIEBITZ
JG. 1884
EINGEWIESEN 1935
ALSTERDORFER ANSTALTEN
‚VERLEGT‘ 16.8.1943
HEILANSTALT
AM STEINHOF / WIEN
TOT 19.5.1945

Margaretha Liebitz, born on 28.1.1889 in Hamburg, subsequently admitted to the Hamburg orphanage, from 18.8.1900 to 12.8. 1918 in what was then known as the "Alsterdorf Asylum" ("Alsterdorfer Anstalten” now the Evangelische Stiftung Alsterdorf), from 13.8.1918 to 7.2.1920 in the workhouse and poorhouse (Werk- und Armenhaus, renamed Versorgungsheim in 1919), admitted to the Friedrichsberg State Hospital on 7.2.1920, readmitted to the "Alsterdorf Asylum" on 8.8.1935, on 16.8.1943 transported to Vienna to the "Wagner von Jauregg - Curative and Nursing Home of the City of Vienna” ("Wagner von Jauregg-Heil- und Pflegeanstalt der Stadt Wien")(also known as the "Am Steinhof" institution), where she died on 19.5.1945.

Averhoffstraße 5, opposite No. 6 (former Hamburg orphanage)

Margaretha Liebitz was born on 28 January 1889 at the maternity hospital at Pastorenstraße 16 in Hamburg-Neustadt, an institution founded in 1795 through private initiative for homeless or destitute unmarried pregnant women.

Her mother, Friedchen Anna Sophie Liebitz, was born on 13 January 1862, in Greifswald. She gave birth to a total of eight children, apart from Margaretha on 31 January 1882 Wilhelmine Christina Frieda, then Alphons Friedrich Wilhelm on 1 April 1887 (died 5 May 1887), Johanna Sophie Friederike on 15 March 1892 (died 10 April 1892), Maria Clara Gertrud on 1 July 1896 (died 23 November 1896), Adolfine on 29 April 1898, and finally Julius Adolf on 17 August 1899 (died 16 May 1900), all born in Hamburg. We know nothing about the biological father or fathers of the children.

Friedchen Anna Sophie Liebitz remained unmarried. According to the information in the birth register extracts, she managed to make a living as a worker and, for a short time, as a maid. She must have lived in precarious circumstances, as she was housed in the Oberaltenallee workhouse and poorhouse (Werk- und Armenhaus) in the Uhlenhorst district at the time of Maria Clara Gertud's birth in 1896, and again around 1920 in the 1919 renamed welfare home.

We know nothing about Margaretha's siblings who survived the first months after birth. The only thing we know is that Wilhelmine Christina Frieda and Maria Clara Gertrud later got married.

Margaretha Liebitz was admitted to the Hamburg orphanage at Averhoffstraße 5 in Hamburg-Uhlenhorst following her birth, and was transferred on 13 August 1900, at the age of nine, to the "Alsterdorf Asylum" ("Alsterdorfer Anstalten” now Evangelische Stiftung Alsterdorf). The admission certificate attested to her "imbecility.” ("imbecility” is a term no longer in use for moderate mental disability.)

No further details are known about this first phase of her stay at the "Alsterdorf Asylum". On 9 August 1918, Margaretha Liebitz was admitted to the workhouse and poorhouse on Oberaltenallee in the Uhlenhorst district of Hamburg. There she was considered "severely mentally disabled,” but physically healthy and capable of light work. On 17 August, she was transferred to the branch institution in Farmsen, but was sent back to the institution on Oberaltenallee on 27 August for "uncleanliness.” Here she was perceived as "malicious” and, after attacking her surroundings and tearing her clothes, she was transferred to the Friedrichsberg State Hospital on 7 February 1920. Margaretha Liebitz was now 21 years old. The 1.47 m tall woman was extremely overweight, which was attributed to disorders of the hormone system. She suffered from dermographism, a skin reaction in which pressure, rubbing, scratching, or scrubbing causes raised red or white stripes (wheals) or welts to appear, which can look like handwriting and cause itching.

After an initially restless phase, Margaretha Liebitz was mostly calm and seemed content. Pain in her feet and legs, that began in 1925, was attributed to "static complaints.” As far as her feet and her weight, which had risen to 111 kg, allowed, she tried to stand and walk. She is said to have eaten as much as she possibly could and waited for the next meal immediately after finishing one. In 1930, she was said to have helped with the housework when asked. By mid-1933, her weight had risen to 124.6 kg, making it difficult for her to move around.

We do not know whether Friedchen Anna Sophie Liebitz ever visited her daughter. She died in 1932. On her death certificate, the 70-year-old was described as an "unmarried worker.” This suggests that Margaretha's mother also lived in poverty during her retirement.

On 8 August 1935, Margaretha Liebitz was transferred back to the "Alsterdorf Asylum". She settled in well there and enjoyed working in the vegetable room. After initially being perceived as agreeable, an incident occurred with a fellow resident in 1937. Margaretha Liebitz hit her so hard that she fell and injured her head.

During periods of excitement, Margaretha Liebig completely scratched her arms. She regularly wet herself and was punished for it; allegedly, this resulted in her remaining dry for a short time. If she wet herself again, she was deprived of her birthday chocolate.

In May 1938, Margaretha Liebitz injured her right knee in a fall. When she refused treatment and verbally abused the "nurses” (caregivers), the doctor prescribed four days of punishment food. She reacted with violent aggression and hit several fellow patients. As a result, she was isolated in the "Wachsaal". "Wachsäle” were established in psychiatric institutions in the 1910s. Restless patients were isolated in them and treated with continuous bathing, sleep cures, and fever cures. In the course of the 1930s, they were transformed into coercive institutions for the sedation of patients with medication, restraints, and other measures. Those affected often perceived this as punishment.

In 1940, Margaretha Liebitz was said to have taken care of her personal hygiene as independently as her body size allowed. She was now diligent and friendly as long as her nutritional needs were met. However, as soon as she did not receive her four to five portions of food per meal, she became angry and scratched her arms and face. She then uttered obscene swear words.

During 1941, Margaretha Liebitz's weight dropped to 98 kg, and in 1942 to 85 kg. How she achieved this is not known.

The entries in Margaretha Liebitz's patient file end on 16 August 1943 with a note from the chief physician of the "Alsterdorf Asylum", SA-member Gerhard Kreyenberg: "Transferred to Vienna due to severe damage to the Asylum caused by air raids.”

The "Alsterdorf Asylum" also suffered bomb damage during the heavy air raids on Hamburg in late July/early August 1943 ("Operation Gomorrah”). The director of the institution, SA-member Pastor Friedrich Lensch, took advantage of the opportunity, with the approval of the health authorities, to get rid of some of the residents who were considered "unproductive, requiring intensive care, or particularly difficult” by transporting them to other sanatoriums and nursing homes. On 16 August 1943, one of these transports took 228 women and girls from Alsterdorf and 72 girls and women from the "Langenhorn Sanatorium and Nursing Home” to Vienna to the "Wagner von Jauregg Sanatorium and Nursing Home of the City of Vienna” (also known as the "Am Steinhof” institution). Among them was Margaretha Liebitz.

When she was admitted to Vienna, Margaretha Liebitz's weight was recorded as 78 kg. She was considered "poorly oriented,” and "questions about her intelligence remained unanswered.” Attempts to employ her in the laundry failed. She also behaved "awkwardly” in Vienna. She needed assistance with personal hygiene. Her appetite was said to have remained good.

By December 1944, Margaretha Liebitz's weight had dropped further to 56 kg. The reasons for this were not noted. On 13 December 1944, she was transferred to Pavilion 19, which was used as an "infection ward.” Patients with tuberculosis or suspected tuberculosis were concentrated in this pavilion. It was there, at the latest, that patients who were still healthy became infected with tuberculosis.

As late as 26 January 1945, Margaretha Liebitz's appetite and sleep were described as good. By April, her weight had dropped further to 50 kg. On 12 May "increasing frailty, symptoms of tuberculosis, diarrhea” were noted.

Margaretha Liebitz died on 19 May 1945, allegedly from marasmus and pulmonary tuberculosis.
(Marasmus is a severe, chronic form of malnutrition that leads to severe weight loss and muscle and fat wasting.)

The institution in Vienna was established on the outskirts of the city in 1907. After Austria's annexation to the German Reich, it was transformed into a center for the euphemistically termed "Euthanasia” killings of the sick. During the first phase of Nazi "Euthanasia” from October 1939 to August 1941, the institution in Vienna served as a transit facility for the Hartheim killing center near Linz. After the official end of the gas murders in the killing centers, mass murder continued in the former transit centers, including the Vienna institution: through drug overdoses, non-treatment of illnesses, and above all through starvation. By the end of 1945, 257 of the 300 girls and women from Hamburg had died, 196 of them from Alsterdorf.

Margaretha Liebitz's first name was often written as "Margarete” in official documents. This spelling can also be found on the Stolperstein commemorating her. In contrast, her birth certificate shows "Margaretha” as the correct spelling.

During her life, Margaretha Liebitz was always in homes or (medical) institutions where she was involuntarily placed. She spent the first eleven years of her life in the Hamburg orphanage on Averhoffstraße. This address is the only one that can be considered voluntary. That is why the Stolperstein commemorating Margaretha Liebitz was placed there in the sidewalk.

Contrary to what is stated on the Stolperstein, Margaretha Liebitz was not born in 1884 but in 1889.

Stand: October 2025
© Ingo Wille

Quellen: Adressbuch Hamburg (diverse Jahrgänge); StaH 332-5 Standesämter 8963 Geburtsregister Nr. 407/1882 (Wilhelmine Christina Frieda Liebitz), 8984 Geburtsregister Nr. 797/1884 (Marie Margareta Helene Liebitz), 9021 Geburtsregister Nr. 1733/1887 (Alphons Friedrich Wilhelm Liebitz), 2196 Geburtsregister Nr. 549/1889 (Margaretha Liebitz), 9079 Geburtsregister Nr. 662/1892 (Johanna Sophie Friederike Liebitz), 9150 Geburtsregister Nr. 1108/1898 (Adolfine Liebitz), 13096 Geburtsregister Nr. 2108/1899 (Julius Adolf Liebitz), 9127 Geburtsregister Nr. 1782/1896 (Maria Clara Gertrud Liebitz), 9848 Sterberegister Nr. 431/1892 (Johanna Sophie Friederike Liebitz), 7821 Sterberegister Nr. 1640/1887 (Alphons Griedrich Wilhelm Liebitz), 6820 Sterberegister Nr. 1619/1896 (Maria Clara Gertrud Liebitz), 444 Sterberegister Nr. 998/1899 (Julius Adolf Liebitz), 992 Sterberegister Nr. 65/1932 (Friedchen Sophie Liebitz); Evangelische Stiftung Alsterdorf Archiv (Sonderakte V 163 Margaretha Liebitz). Michael Wunder, Ingrid Genkel, Harald Jenner, Auf dieser schiefen Ebene gibt es kein Halten mehr – Die Alsterdorfer Anstalten im Nationalsozialismus, Stuttgart 2016, S. 331-371. Peter von Rönn, Der Transport nach Wien, in: Peter von Rönn u.a., Wege in den Tod, Hamburgs Anstalt Langenhorn und die Euthanasie in der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus, Hamburg 1993, S. 425-467. Peter Schwarz, Die Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Wien-Steinhof im Ersten und Zweiten Weltkrieg, in: Markus Rachbauer / Florian Schwanninger (Hg.), Krieg und Psychiatrie. Lebensbedingungen und Sterblichkeit in österreichischen Heil- und Pflegeanstalten im Ersten und Zweiten Weltkrieg (= Historische Texte des Lern- und Gedenkorts Schloss Hartheim, Bd. 5), Innsbruck 2022, S. 101-173.