Crying Hands: Eugenics and Deaf People in Nazi Germany

6. Deaf Resistance

109 6 Deaf Resistance HERBERT WEINERT, a racial hygienist and teacher of deaf students from Dresden, wrote in the 1930s that “countering” deaf people’s “subversive agitation” was a significant aspect of the race hygiene program. He termed such work “a special assignment . . . since [resistance to the sterilization law] always reflects negatively on sterilizations.”1 Weinert found it “unconditionally necessary” to oppose as strongly as possible what he characterized as “rumors” circulating among the deaf population about sterilizations. As a teacher of deaf pupils, Weinert knew that news and criticism were relayed quickly through sign language and the network of the various deaf organizations, avoiding conventional avenues of communication that were more easily monitored. Weinert expressed his concern about this uncontrolled information exchange: “Rumors circulate . . . and because of the strict solidarity among the deaf they can be transmitted very quickly across great distances.”2 The question of organizing resistance against sterilization engaged many deaf Germans in the Reich. Maria Wallisfurth’s biography of her deaf mother expresses the urgency felt by those threatened by the sterilization law. “They wanted to defend themselves .” Wallisfurth wrote. “But how were they to do it? Whoever refused was taken away by the police.”3 Fascist legislators explicitly permitted the use of force to carry out the sterilization law, well aware of the difficulties that would accompany the law’s “voluntary” implementation: If sterilization has been decreed [section 12, paragraph 1, stated], it is to be carried out even against the will of the person to be sterilized, unless he or she alone has made the application. The responsible physician is to request the necessary measures of the police authorities. Insofar as other measures are not sufficient, the use of physical force is authorized.4 Only 17 of the 1,215 deaf people I questioned stated that their sterilization was voluntary. In fact, roughly one-third of the respondents , 393 individuals, ignored the written summons to appear at a given clinic “within two weeks for the surgical intervention necessary for sterilization, under the provisions of the Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Diseases.” When they failed to appear voluntarily, deaf people were taken to the clinics, most often by the police. Twenty-five respondents, however, stated that either a teacher or principal had taken them to the clinic for sterilization; and nine said that a “public health nurse” had been responsible. The following documents show officials’ use of force and the threat of force to gain deaf compliance with sterilization orders: State Health Authority for the City and District of Greifswald No. 3/77/35 Greifswald, July 20, 1935 To: The Office of the Mayor, Local Police Authority, Wolgast Re: NN of Wolgast, hereditarily diseased The above named hereditarily diseased person has been sentenced to sterilization by the legally binding decision of the Hereditary Health Court of Greifswald. The order for the operation and for admission to one of the listed hospitals was delivered on June 17, 1935. Thus far NN has avoided the sterilization operation. I respectfully request, in accordance with the Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Diseases, that NN be forcibly conveyed to one of the hospitals named (Surgical Clinic in Greifswald or Dr. Nauck, Greifswald) and that I be informed of the completion of this action. (signature) Public Health Officer 110 Deaf Resistance The Lord Mayor of the City of Nuremberg of the Reich Conference of Cities (stamp) Leader of the City Health Authority Frau NN Furrier Nuremberg Nuremberg, December 6, 1937 Re: Implementation of the Reich Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Diseases of July 14, 1933 N II 1913 / 5045 In its decision of November 4, 1937 (document Z. XIII 109/37), the Hereditary Health Court of the District Court of Erlangen has ordered your sterilization, since you suffer from hereditary deafness. This decision came into definitive force on November 30, 1937. You are then directed to present yourself for the medical measures necessary for sterilization within two weeks from the day of the issuance of this order. The facility in question is the Municipal Gynecology Clinic of Nuremburg, at Flurstrasse 7. It should also be noted that sterilization may legally be carried out against the wishes of the subject. In the event of noncompliance with this official order, you may expect the use of physical force, that is, conveyance by the...