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Christiane Mueller-Dannien * 1926

Blumenstraße 49 (Hamburg-Nord, Winterhude)

HIER WOHNTE
CHRISTIANE
MÜLLER-DANNIEN
JG. 1926
EINGEWIESEN 1931
ALSTERDORFER ANSTALTEN
"VERLEGT" 14.11.1943
HEILANSTALT RICKLING
ERMORDET 7.1.1945

Christiane Mueller-Dannien, born 18.3.1926 in Hamburg, admitted to the then Alsterdorfer Anstalten (now Evangelische Stiftung Alsterdorf) on 19.3.1931, deported to Vienna to the "Wagner von Jauregg-Heil- und Pflegeanstalt der Stadt Wien" on 16.8.1943, transferred to Rickling to the "Holsteinische Heilstätten für Nerven- und Alkoholkranke" on 14.11.1943, died there on 9.1.1945

Blumenstraße 49 (Winterhude)

Christiane Mueller-Dannien was one of the 228 mental ill women and girls who were transported from the former Alsterdorf institutions (now Evangelische Stiftung Alsterdorf) to the "Wagner von Jauregg Sanatorium and Nursing Home of the City of Vienna" ("Wagner von Jauregg- Heil- und Pflegeanstalt der Stadt Wien") on 16 Aug. 1943. Strongly alarmed by the rumour that the patients were to be transported further, her mother distrusted a letter from Vienna and finally managed to have Christiane removed from the Vienna asylum and entrusted to the Rickling institutions (Ricklinger Anstalten). Probably her courageous and energetic intervention prevented the intended death of her daughter in Vienna, because 196 of the 228 girls and women transferred to Vienna died by the end of 1945 as a result of malnutrition, neglect, lack of treatment in case of illness and deliberate overdosing of medication.

Christiane Susanne Luise Mueller-Dannien was born on 18 March 1926 as the second daughter of Ernst Ludwig Eduard Mueller-Dannien and Susanna Katharina Hanna Maria Mueller-Dannien, née Rollin, in Hamburg-Winterhude, Blumenstraße 49. Their grandparents had also lived there for many years.

Christiane's parents had married in Hamburg on 6 July 1921. Her father's profession was listed as government builder (ret.) and merchant. He described himself as a factory owner. According to the entries in the Hamburg address book, his business address from 1940 was Alsterdamm 37 (today Ballindamm).

Dr. med. Franz Rollin, Christiane Mueller-Dannien's grandfather, reported in 1930 on the occasion of an examination of his granddaughter in the Friedrichsberg state hospital that the child had slipped away from the midwife after birth and fallen to the floor. This was possibly the cause of Christiane's develop mental disorders, which were already noticed about half a year after her birth. At the age of four, Christiane could only walk with support and could not speak either. In Friedrichsberg, "imbecility and idiocy" were diagnosed. (These are outdated and no longer used terms for a moderate mental handicap or a severe form of intelligence impairment.)

After her admission to the Alsterdorf institutions (now Evangelische Stiftung Alsterdorf) on 19 March 1931, Christiane Mueller-Dannien was repeatedly a patient in the hospital until November, because of angina, flu, intestinal catarrh and bronchitis. It was noted in her patient file that Christiane screamed violently when her wishes were not fulfilled. At the end of December, she had played with a doll for the first time and energetically said "no". At the beginning of February 1932, good progress was observed in her walking. In October 1932, she had finally been able to stand up independently and walk short distances. In the following years, phases of liveliness and striving for independence, e.g. at meals, were reported. On Sundays, she had always waited full of expectation for her mother's visit, rushed to meet her and tried to tell her something. In the play school, which she had been attending since September 1934, she had not reacted to anything, neither to pictures, nor balls or a ball. She could stand and walk well. She could not eat alone.

In mid-1935, it was recorded that she had to be completely "worried". During this time, she was perceived as mostly amused. She certainly seems to have physically developed, for, as noted in 1936, she was said to have become very wild and to have run around a lot. In 1937 it was noted that she was completely dependent in body care, then in 1940, that she was not yet able to dress and undress herself and did not show any progress whatsoever. She was particularly happy about her parents' visits.

The following reports correspond to those of previous years. The patient file of the Alsterdorf institutions ends with an entry dated 16 Aug. 1943: "Transferred to Vienna due to severe damage to the institutions by air raid. Gez. Dr. Kreyenberg."

During the heavy air raids on Hamburg at the end of July/beginning of August 1943 ("Operation Gomorrha"), the Alsterdorf institutions also suffered bomb damage. After consultation with the health authorities, the management took the opportunity to get rid of some of the residents who were considered to be "weak in work, requiring a lot of care or particularly difficult" by transferring them to other sanatoriums and nursing homes. On 16 Aug. 1943, the above-mentioned transport took place with 228 women and girls from Alsterdorf and 72 girls and women from the Langenhorn sanatorium and nursing home to the "Wagner von Jauregg Sanatorium and Nursing Home of the City of Vienna" in Vienna (also known as the "Am Steinhof" institution). Christiane Mueller-Dannien was among them, too.

The relatives were neither announced nor promptly informed of the transfer. This also follows from a letter dated 31 Aug. 1943 from Christiane's mother to the institution in Vienna, in which she calls her daughter Tinchen:

"Dear Headmistress! Today I learned in the Alsterdorf institutions from the nurse who had been looking after my daughter that the child is in your care. I would like to warmly recommend my daughter Christiane to you. We are all very attached to her, my husband, my elder daughter and I, and it is very painful for us to know our little girl so far away. Sister Alma said it would be possible that Tinchen would come even further away. Could you please prevent that? If the child cannot stay with you, then I ask to send her back to us. I will try to find a place for her myself in Lüneburg or in a home near Neumünster and let you know the result immediately. I also want to see that I can travel to Vienna. It may take another 4-6 weeks, as I am tied up here. If you could at least keep our little girl with you until then, I would be very grateful. If it could be arranged there? [...] Best regards to you, dear Headmistress, and our little Tinchen, and many thanks for all your efforts. Susanne Mueller-Dannien."

A reply was received from Vienna in a letter dated 22 Sept. 1943: "To Mrs. Susanne Mueller-Daniel Aumühle/Hamburg Oberförsterkoppel. In reply to your letter of the 31st of last month, I would like to inform you that your daughter Mueller Dannien Christine was brought to our home on a collective transport on 17 Aug. of this year and has settled in to the new conditions to some extent. Unfortunately, she is often quite stubborn and defiant, so that she cannot be kept among the other patients. A transfer to another institution is not planned. The director"

After some correspondence, also with the Rickling institutions, Christiane Mueller-Dannien was handed over to her parents in Vienna on 13 Nov. 1943. In a lapel note (release against medical advice), the father undertook with his signature to supervise his daughter "with all due care, so that the aforementioned can cause no harm to herself or anyone else, and declares himself willing to be liable for any damage resulting from lack of the necessary supervision."

Christiane Mueller-Dannien arrived with her parents in Rickling on 14 Nov 1943 and was admitted to Falkenhorst House. Here she was described as a gracefully built, pale-looking child whose musculature was poorly developed. She had to be completely cared for, and food had to be given to her.

In December 1944, Christiane fell seriously ill, according to the entries in her medical chart. She then suffered from chills with high fever and diarrhoea. She was also diagnosed with inflammation of the kidney pelvis. Christiane only ate liquid food and deteriorated rapidly as her fever remained high. According to the death certificate, Christiane Mueller-Dannien died on 7 Jan. 1945 as a result of the inflammation of the kidney pelvis. Christiane Susanne Luise Mueller-Dannien was 18 years old.

Translated by Elisabeth Wendland

Stand: August 2022
© Ingo Wille

Quellen: Standesamt Boostedt-Rickling, Sterberegisterauszug Nr 10/1945 Christiane Susanne Luise Mueller-Dannien; Evangelische Stiftung Alsterdorf, Archiv, Patientenakte V 278.