Gedenkstätte für Opfer der NS-„Euthanasie“ Bernburg

About the museum

Between 1940 and 1943, around 14,000 sick, disabled and socially non-conforming people were murdered at the former Landes-Heil- und Pflegeanstalt (state sanatorium and nursing home) in Bernburg by doctors, lawyers, nursing staff and administrative personnel. The structural remains of the killing facility are preserved in the basement of the "Wilhelm Griesinger" building: gas chamber, autopsy room and crematorium.

After 1945, remembrance of the victims was absent for decades. Only at the end of the 1970s did hospital staff begin, on their own initiative, to research this history. In September 1989 the memorial opened with a general loan exhibition. Since 1994 the site has been run by the State of Saxony-Anhalt, and since 2007 it has belonged to the Stiftung Gedenkstätten Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt Memorial Foundation).

Since September 2018, a new permanent exhibition has covered the prehistory from 1900, forced sterilization and child murders, the course of the killings in Bernburg, the staff involved and the prosecution of perpetrators. In the former crematorium, a memorial area with photos, biographies and a Book of the Dead commemorates the victims.

Key themes

• Preserved killing facility in the basement (gas chamber, autopsy room, crematorium)
• Permanent exhibition on the extermination of the so-called "useless" since 2018
• Memorial area with biographies and a Book of the Dead in the former crematorium
• Permanent exhibition catalog in Easy Language (Leichte Sprache)

Permanent exhibitions

• Die Vernichtung der „Unbrauchbaren“ – Permanent exhibition since September 2018 on Nazi health and racial policy, using the "euthanasia" facility in Bernburg as an example, from its prehistory from 1900 to the prosecution of perpetrators.
• Historische Räume der Tötungsanstalt – In the basement, the gas chamber, autopsy room and crematorium are preserved. In the former crematorium, a memorial area with photos, biographies and a Book of the Dead commemorates the victims.
• „In Memoriam“ – Gedenkschmuck – Artistic memorial jewelry by designer Mareen Alburg Duncker, created for five victims' biographies, on display on the first floor.

Founded

1989

Operated by

Stiftung Gedenkstätten Sachsen-Anhalt

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Visits and guided tours are free of charge; educational programs are also free.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description: no information

The seminar and exhibition areas can be reached by elevator (89 cm wide, 135 cm deep). In the basement, almost all historic rooms are accessible with mobile ramps, although some doors are only 82 cm wide. Exhibition panels can be rolled under by wheelchair users. Texts are in large print with strong contrast; there is no tactile guidance system; the basement has uneven floors and steps. Staff can accompany visitors. Assistance dogs are welcome; otherwise dogs are not permitted in the exhibition area. The permanent exhibition catalog and guided tours are available in Easy Language; advance registration is requested.

Kids & families

Only partly suitable for kids

The educational programs are aimed at students from grade 9 onward; the subject and the historic site can be distressing for young people.

Getting there & parking

By car via the A 14 (exits Staßfurt, Bernburg or Könnern), the A 9 (exit Dessau or Zörbig, via Köthen) or the B 6n (exit Bernburg). About 2 km on foot from Bernburg train station.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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