Grafeneck Explained

Grafeneck
Type:	Village
Municipality:	Gomadingen
Coordinates:	48.3944°N 9.4325°W
State:	Baden-Württemberg
District:	Reutlingen

Grafeneck is a small rural village in the German municipality of Gomadingen, south of Stuttgart.

World War II history

Grafeneck Castle, which had previously been an asylum for crippled people, was turned by the Nazis into an extermination facility.

Between January and December 1940, 10,654 people with mental disabilities or psychological disorders were gassed at this facility with carbon monoxide in the first gas chamber and then cremated. This was the beginning of the T-4 Euthanasia Program. Grafeneck was the first Nazi institution to be transformed in a gas chamber and crematorium.^[1]

Notes and References

1. Emiliano Perra . The uncanny memory of Nazi euthanasia, the Risiera di San Sabba and the foibe . 147 . December 18, 2015 . 10.18352/incontri.10117 . Incontroi . 30 . 2 . 0169-3379 . Werkgroep Italië Studies . 5966476814 . Grafeneck was the first institution to be outfitted with a gas chamber and crematorium . free .