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Traudel Passburg * 1940

Langenhorner Chaussee 560 (Hamburg-Nord, Langenhorn)

ERMORDET IN DER
"KINDERFACHABTEILUNG"
DER HEIL- UND PFLEGEANSTALT
LANGENHORN

TRAUDEL PASSBURG
GEB. 3.5.1940
ERMORDET 30.4.1942

further stumbling stones in Langenhorner Chaussee 560:
Gerda Behrmann, Uwe Diekwisch, Peter Evers, Elke Gosch, Claus Grimm, Werner Hammerich, Marianne Harms, Hillene Hellmers, Helga Heuer, Waltraud Imbach, Inge Kersebaum, Hella Körper, Dieter Kullak, Helga Liebschner, Theo Lorenzen, Jutta Müller, Ingrid Neuhaus, Edda Purwin, Angela Quast, Erwin Sänger, Hermann Scheel, Gottfried Simon, Monika Ziemer

Traudel Passburg, born on 3.5.1940 in Hamburg, killed on 30.4.1942 in the "children's ward of the Langenhorn sanatorium and nursing home” (Kinderfachabteilung)

Asklepios Clinic North Ochsenzoll,
Henny-Schütz-Allee, memorial house 25, entrance Langenhorner Chaussee 560

Traudel Passburg was born in Hamburg on May 3, 1940. She was the daughter of Anni Louise Auguste, née Haulsen, and Robert Alexander Georg Passburg, a draughtsman at Holsatia-Werke Heinz Meyer, and was baptized a Protestant. It was a difficult birth, starting from a breech position and with "multiple fractures of the long bones”. A "bone disease” was diagnosed at the Eppendorf University Hospital. Her brother Paul-Joachim, born in 1937, had already contracted the disease and died of "osteogenesis” (brittle bone disease) at the age of three weeks on May 18, 1937. The mother had been given "Hepatrat” during both severe pregnancies. Traudel initially stayed in the Eppendorf University Children's Hospital for four months and was fed with pumped breast milk.

At the age of seven months, on December 20, 1940, Traudel returned to the Eppendorf University Children's Hospital for a check-up. In addition to a nasopharyngeal infection, a fracture to her right upper arm was discovered and her upper arms and thighs were severely bent. Otherwise, her developmental status was that of a child of the same age. On January 6, 1941, she was released to go home to Eidelstedtedterweg 107. In the following period, she was treated by Dr. Ricken, whose practice was located in Heußweg.

A year later, on February 10, 1942, Traudel was admitted to the "Langenhorn Sanatorium and Nursing Home”, House M 10, with a certificate from the Main Health Office and the diagnosis "angeb. (inborn) Weakness of life” to the ‘Langenhorn Sanatorium and Nursing Home’, House M 10.

In a letter dated 23 March 1942 to the "Reichsausschuss zur wissenschaftlichen Erfassung von erb- und anlagebedingten schweren Leiden” in Berlin, Dr. Knigge, the doctor in charge, made his position on the further treatment clear: "The child's speech is reasonably developed, its nature, when it is not in pain, is cheerful and friendly and shows a great deal of interest in its surroundings. [...] I have no reservations about initiating treatment as soon as possible for the child with the most severe manifestations of 'osteogenesis imperfecta' [brittle bone disease]. Dr. Knigge, Head Physician of the Pediatric Department.”

Traudel Passburg was killed in the "children's ward of the Langenhorn sanatorium and nursing home”. She died on April 30, 1942 at 8:00 a.m. in House M 10 Women's Ward II. In the death certificate, Dr. Knigge gave "osteogenesis congenita imperfecta bronchopneumonia” as the cause of death. Knigge killed with Luminal injections, a sleeping pill. Fever and pneumonia were the result; the children suffered a slow and agonizing death. In most death certificates, as in Traudel's case, the words "bronchopneumonia” refer to this killing.

Traudel was 1 year, 11 months, 3 weeks and 6 days old. The place of her burial is not known.

In July of the same year, her mother applied to the gynaecologist Dr W. Schütz for sterilization. Her doctor requested the medical records of the deceased children. Knigge replied to the gynecologist that it would be best to refer Traudel's mother directly to the Graumannsweg health department.

After the war, on January 18, 1946, in the criminal case against him and others for murder or euthanasia in the "children's ward” of the Langenhorn hospital, Friedrich Knigge gave the following justification in a hearing before the examining magistrate at the Hamburg District Court regarding the Traudel Passburg case: "It was established by an X-ray procedure that the child had suffered 40 bone fractures. These numerous fractures had led to a shortening of the arms and legs. [...] In this disease, the fractures, which can number over 100, occur spontaneously and not as a result of awkward movement. In this case, the fractures occurred during movements in bed without the child having walked beforehand. It was to be expected that further fractures would occur at the slightest movement. The lifespan of such a child is of course very limited. Above all, existence is fraught with terrible agony. It was hardly to be expected that this child would grow much older than about 2 or 3 years. A sister [correctly: a brother, M.L.] had already died of the same illness at the age of 3 weeks. In this case, the child's release from his suffering could only be delayed with reluctance. I therefore applied for authorization [permission] for euthanasia treatment in the letter already mentioned. Once this had been granted, I carried out the 'treatment'. On her first visit the mother said that something had to be done to shorten the child's terrible suffering. Of course she agreed to the 'treatment'.”

As a witness in court, Traudel's mother Anni Passburg told the examining magistrate on February 3, 1948: "In the fall of 1940, soon after Traudel was brought home from the Eppendorf hospital, a public health officer from the Graumannsweg health department came to my house to look at the child. He introduced himself and said that he wanted to pay a visit. I didn't know the doctor's name. In my opinion, the doctor was at least 70 years old and of small stature [Prof. Sieveking]. He didn't say anything about the findings on the child but only said: 'Too bad about the child'. In 1941, Dr. Griewe [correctly: Grieve] from the public health department visited me two or three times. I asked Dr. Griewe what to do with the child, as I could see that nothing was happening to my child's life. During one of the visits, Dr. Griewe asked me whether I would give the child to an institution for treatment if I were approached about it. I replied that I would say 'yes' because I saw every day that my child was becoming nothing and something had to be done. I never asked what was being done to my child because I didn't want to know. I asked Dr. Griewe if the treatment would be successful because I didn't expect anything from it. Dr. Griewe shrugged his shoulders and said we should hope for the best. I said: 'I hope so too'. In January 1942, Dr. Griewe came to see me again and asked me whether I was now prepared to send the child to the Langenhorn institution for treatment. When I gave my consent, Dr. Griewe replied that I should take the child to Langenhorn on Tuesday. [...] Neither Dr. Griewe nor Dr. Knigge told me that they wanted to carry out a treatment with the child that was extremely dangerous. [...] In conclusion, I would like to say once again that after our experiences I considered the child to be incurable and did not expect any treatment. If the doctors nevertheless wanted to carry out treatment, I agreed because I did not want to be accused of having tried the last possible way to bring about an improvement in the child's suffering. But it never occurred to me, nor did I in any way indicate to the doctors, that I would agree to the child being granted euthanasia.”

Translation: Beate Meyer
Stand: November 2024
© Margot Löhr

Quellen: StaH, 213-12 Staatsanwaltschaft, 0013 Bd. 060 Sonderakte Bd. 40, Schirbaum, Gottfried u. a., 013/060, Akte 29462, 0017 Bd. 001, Bayer Dr. Wilhelm, u. a., S. 72, 150 f., 225 f.; StaH, 332-5 Standesämter, Sterbefallsammelakten, 64217 u. 364/1942 Traudel Passburg; StaH, 332-5 Standesämter, Sterberegister, 9933 u. 364/1942 Traudel Passburg; StaH, 352-5 Standesämter, Todesbescheinigungen, 1942 Sta 1b Nr. 364 Traudel Passburg; StaH, 352-8/7 Staatskrankenanstalt Langenhorn, Abl. 2000/01 Nr. 4 Akte 29462; Standesamt Hamburg 1a, Geburtsregister, Nr. 756/1940 Traudel Passburg.