page_title: Nazi eugenics
section_title: Nazi eugenics institutions
hierarchical_section_title: Nazi eugenics / Nazi eugenics program / Nazi eugenics institutions
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: NS-Tötungsanstalt Hartheim, Abholungsbus mit Fahrer, Foto Niedernhart Prozess. "Deutsche Reichspost. 40 km(/h). (Mercedes-Stern) Diesel. RP-100 855." dunkel matt lackiert, Linkslenker, Startkurbel-Loch, Dachgalerie für Gepäck, Winker und Blinker. Fensterscheiben Passagierraum und Zielanzeige dunkel lackiert, Original-Scheinwerfer abgedeckt, Luftschutzscheinwerfer, weisse Lackierung Stoßstange, Kotblechkontur, Eck-Visierantennen, ohne Aussenspiegel; am Dach: Basis für Anhänger-Dreieck; Hufeisen als Glückssymbol English: Hartheim Nazi killing center, bus with driver
context_page_description: Nazi eugenics were a set of beliefs and rules that were very important to Nazi Germany during World War II. These beliefs said that the Aryan race was the master race – the best race of all – and all other races were inferior. There were also many other people who the Nazis believed were "life unworthy of life," like people with disabilities. These ideas about eugenics were at the center of the Nazis' beliefs and eventually helped lead to the Holocaust.
  Because they did not want these "inferior" people in German society, the Nazis decided to get rid of them, using many different strategies. They began with people with disabilities. The Nazis forced more than 400,000 people with disabilities to be sterilized. They also killed over 300,000 people with disabilities in a program called Action T4. In this program, the Nazis sent people with disabilities to places like Hadamar and Hartheim Euthanasia Centres to be killed. These people were killed with lethal injections and poison gas, in vans and gas chambers at the Euthanasia Centres.
  Using what they learned by killing people with disabilities, the Nazis soon built extermination camps.
context_section_description: The Nazis made six psychiatric hospitals into "Euthanasia Centres," where people with disabilities (including children) were taken to be killed.  These six hospitals were Bernburg, Brandenburg, Grafeneck, Hadamar, Hartheim, and Sonnenstein Euthanasia Centres.
  At first, the Nazis killed patients in gas vans.  The patients would be put into vansand exhaust gas from the vans' engines would be pumped into the vans.  The carbon monoxide in the exhaust gas killed the patients.  Later, gas chambers were built into the Euthanasia Centres and used pure carbon monoxide gas to kill the patients.
caption: Gas van at Hartheim for killing patients
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