The story
Founded as a rescue center for homeless boys
The middle of the 19th century was characterized by the social upheavals of industrialization. Traditional family relationships broke down and traditional village communities disintegrated. This breakdown left many children and youth facing poverty and homelessness. In response, several towns established rescue centers, offering these neglected boys a place to call home and guiding them toward becoming responsible citizens.
The Protestant chaplain Burchardi, teacher Reichard, and Countess Henriette von Giech, daughter of the Imperial Baron vom und zum Stein and an advocate of Burchardi's plan to establish a rescue center, were instrumental in its founding two years after the 1st Wittenberg Church Congress held in 1848. This church conference proved pivotal in the history of the Scheuern Homes. Johann Hinrich Wichern's lecture promoting the foundation of rescue homes was instrumental in inspiring Burchardi's organization of a similar home in Nassau. This lecture also led to the establishment of the Central Committee for Inner Mission in 1848 - an umbrella organization for numerous similar initiatives.
To initiate and operate the rescue center, an association was formed, dedicated to gathering donations. Teacher H. Reichard, a friend of Burchardi's, offered his schoolhouse in Hömberg for use as accommodation, where the first boy was accommodated on October 18, 1850.
The following year, Countess von Giech facilitated the relocation of the rescue center to Langenau Castle between Obernhof and Nassau. Eduard Zais oversaw the necessary construction work.
By 1865, the rescue center housed twenty boys, but that same year, Countess von Giech died. Concurrently, the association successfully acquired the small castle in Scheuern along with a mill and some land. The small castle, the central structure of the Scheuern Homes, had its origins in a small moated castle built in 1596 as a widow's residence for Countess Maria von Nassau-Idstein. She inhabited this castle from 1607 onwards. The association incurred significant debt with these acquisitions, which impeded their work. To seek assistance, the association's board approached Johann Hinrich Wichern who dispatched Moritz Desiderius Horny, one of his most experienced employees, to Scheuern.
From a rescue center to a facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities
From 1863 onwards, Horny took on the leadership role at the home. There was a realization that numerous rescue centers had emerged in the administrative district of Wiesbaden, resulting in an oversupply. This led to a shift in the institution's focus, recognizing a lack of dedicated institutions for individuals with mental disabilities.
The latter half of the 19th century was marked by substantial social change. Between 1871 and 1910, the populations of Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, and Offenbach saw significant growth: Frankfurt by 355%, Wiesbaden by 207%, and Offenbach by 148%, mainly due to rural exodus. For working-class families, most of whom lived at the subsistence level, the placement of a disabled family member in an institution was a considerable relief, especially since the state governor paid for the placement after the Supportive Housing Act was amended in 1892.From 1869 onwards, the tasks were to educate and treat "educationally capable individuals with intellectual disabilities" and to care for and support "educationally incapable individuals with intellectual disabilities." The statutes of 1872 explicitly stated that the Scheuern Homes were a Protestant institution, and therefore all employees were required to profess their Protestant denomination. However, pupils of other denominations were also accepted and received religious instruction specific to their beliefs.
Debt relief and expansion
Horny achieved a milestone by eliminating the institution's debt, hiring a hospital doctor in 1878, and overseeing its consistent expansion. Over a sixteen-year period between 1870 and 1886, the Scheuern Homes received 1,225 admission applications, of which 807 had to be declined due to space and staff constraints. To address the growing demand, additional properties were procured: the Knabenhaus (now the Altes Haus) in 1875 and the Langauer Mill in 1888. Moreover, new constructions were initiated, such as the Mädchenhaus (now the Weißes Haus) in 1886 and the Rote Haus (now the Haus Bodelschwingh) in 1895.
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During this time, the institution established workspaces and workshops intended for both educational and commercial purposes. These spaces encompassed various trades, including carpentry, basket weaving, tailoring, straw weaving, and a bakery. Livestock breeding and agriculture also played essential roles in the economic foundation of the Scheuern Homes.
The Supportive Housing Act of 1892 brought a change to institutions like the Scheuern Homes. With the provincial governor assuming the costs of accommodating disabled family members, the homes' economic basis strengthened, making them less reliant on donations.
Schools were increasingly controlled by the state at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1902, the government mandated the development of a curriculum for the first time. The name Anstalt Scheuern was utilized from 1905 onward.
The First World War and the years that followed
The years of World War I, from 1914 to 1918, posed significant challenges as public subsidies decreased while food costs rose sharply. Despite securing loans, the institution's survival was threatened, and malnutrition prevailed among residents which led to a significant increase in mortality rates.
From 1919, the institution was named the Scheuern Educational and Nursing Home for the Mentally Ill (Erziehungs- und Pflegeanstalt für Geistesschwache Scheuern). Occupancy at the homes sharply fell during the war, prompting the establishment of a children's recreation home for the city of Offenbach at the Langauer Mill in 1920. In 1927, this recreation home relocated to the Lahnberg. Director Karl Todt died on October 29, 1920, and his son Karl Todt Jr. took over management.
The first trained special school teacher was hired in 1928. In 1931, the institution was divided into four sections: the home for children who were difficult to educate, the Langau nursing home for older disabled people, the educational institution for the intellectually disabled and epileptic boys and girls with schooling, workshops, and the agricultural apprentices' home at the Mauch farm and the recreation home on the Lahnberg.
Deconfessionalization and cooptation
As a part of the Inner Mission, direct access to the Scheuern institution was initially unavailable to state authorities. While other facilities like the Kalmenhof in Idstein were quickly and harshly taken over, the Inner Mission institutions experienced a slower takeover. Nonetheless, the impact of National Socialism could already be felt leading up to the actual takeover. Forced sterilizations were performed, military sports exercises and voluntary work were organized, educational work was based on the model of a labor camp, and punishments for violations of the institution's rules were greatly increased.
In 1937, Governor Wilhelm Traupel, Chairman of the Provincial Welfare Association, laid claim to the leadership of all institutions in which people were accommodated at the expense of his authority. When the Scheuern institution resisted, the governor threatened to withdraw a loan and relocate all residents whose accommodation he paid for. This action would have likely caused the Scheuern institution to experience an economic collapse. New statutes with the Führer principle were adopted, and the board of directors was abolished and replaced by a single director, Social Welfare Officer and SS-Hauptsturmführer Fritz Bernotat. Karl Todt maintained his position as the head of the institution. This shift in leadership was marked by the board of directors' decision to ignore the directives of the Central Committee and independently modify the statutes. Todt justified the decision by highlighting its financial implications, the possibility of job loss, and the potential harm to residents caused by uprooting. It is assumed that Todt, who joined the National Socialist German Workers' Party in the same year, may have anticipated that this alteration would grant him more autonomy.
The Scheuern Homes established a precedent, leading the Central Committee of the institutions of the Inner Mission to direct that all future negotiations with authorities should be conducted by the Committee itself. This measure prevented similar takeovers at the Hephata institutions in Treysa and Nieder-Ramstadt, despite the significant economic losses due to the withdrawal of the state-housed patients.
Forced sterilizations
Even prior to the National Socialists taking power and implementing the Gesetz zur Verhütung erbkranken Nachwuchses (GzVeN) (Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Diseases), doctors at religious institutions had already called for legislation permitting the sterilization of specific disabled individuals. This included asylum doctor Anthes and Director Todt.
"How joyfully we, who have been working for 83 years on the weak-minded and epileptic children of men according to the commission of our Savior, welcomed the racial care measures of our leader, which are to fight the evils from the roots [...] We therefore welcome the law on sterilization, i.e. infertility for the purpose of preventing hereditary diseases, the foundations of which we were allowed to help build with our experience [...] Even if the success of these measures will only have an effect in generations to come, we thank the Führer from the depths of our knowledge that he is sowing seeds of hope with his laws, from which a healthy, great German people may grow. God will bless this will because it is based on love for our neighbor!"
From 1934, before the de facto takeover by the National Socialist administration, forced sterilizations were implemented at the Scheuern Homes. Records indicate that at least 110 residents suffered forced sterilizations between 1934 and 1938. The extent of forced sterilizations in subsequent years is unclear due to the absence of records. It is presumed that the number of such sterilizations had significantly decreased, and the practice that was already established may not have been worth recording. Three hospitals were primarily responsible for the sterilizations: the Henrietten-Theresien-Foundation in Nassau, the Deaconess home in Bad Ems, and the State sanatorium in Herborn.
The Second World War
During the Second World War, life in Scheuern was significantly impacted. Some areas of Scheuern were utilized as a military hospital for wounded German soldiers, resulting in overcrowded conditions. Additionally, the food supply was so scarce that some soldiers shared their rations with residents in order to alleviate their suffering.
As the war continued, more residents were sent to work. Students worked at Nieverner Hut, Gebrüder Lotz car manufacturer in Bad Ems, Jean Holler grid and gate factory in Bad Ems, Buderus in Staffel, and Reichsbahn in Niederlahnstein.
Nassau suffered heavy air raids on February 1–2 and March 19, 1945. Pupils assisted in rescuing missing soldiers who were accommodated at Kurhaus, a military hospital at the time.
The end of the Second World War for the asylum came on March 27, 1945, when US army troops advanced from the south through Scheuern to Nassau. They shot and killed an inmate who was engaged in digging at the cemetery. This man was one of those who had managed to escape the initial transport on March 18, 1941, and his death marked the last fatality in the Scheuern institution during the National Socialist era.
The Scheuern Homes as an intermediate institution
From the end of 1939, several sanatoriums and nursing homes were transformed into killing centers as part of Aktion T-4. The centers were used to exterminate useless eaters through various methods, including gassing. The Scheuern institution, along with Andernach, Eichberg in Eltville am Rhein, the Weilmünster clinic, and the Kalmenhof in Idstein, served as intermediate institutions of the Hadamar killing center. Killings in Hadamar took place from January 1941 onwards. The intermediate institutions functioned as temporary storage for transports destined for Hadamar. The goal was to ensure the immediate murder of only as many victims as were delivered. These transports were facilitated by Gekrat buses and the Reich railway.
In the mid-1940s, the Scheuern institution received selection forms to document the inmates, which were later forwarded to the Reich Committee for the Scientific Registration of Serious Hereditary and Congenital Conditions. Decisions concerning life and death were taken there. On March 18, 1941, the first group of 38 individuals was transported to the Arnsdorf institution, despite originally intending to transport 50. However, only 23 were available when it was assembled. An additional 15 individuals were chosen on an ad hoc basis. Soon after their arrival, 31 of these people were transferred to the Pirna-Sonnenstein killing center, where they were gassed. The filming of their murder was even recorded.
Nine additional transports were dispatched on 23 July 1941, destined for Hadamar. A total of 658 people were sent to be murdered on these transports. While the transport to Arnsdorf and the first four transports to Hadamar consisted exclusively of regular residents of the Scheuern asylum, the other five transports mainly deported so-called "intermediate asylum patients".
On 24 August 1941, Adolf Hitler gave verbal instructions to end Action T-4 and to stop adult euthanasia in the six killing centers. This instruction was based on the public protests of this action. However, child euthanasia continued, as did the decentralized killing of disabled adults in individual sanatoriums and nursing homes.
As a result of this directive, there were almost no transfers to Scheuern in 1942, although around 300 intermediate patients were still accommodated here. Transfers began again at the beginning of 1943. By 1945, a further 717 people had been transported to Hadamar, 651 of whom died shortly after arriving there.
Paediatric wards were established in other institutions, such as the Eichberg and Kalmenhof asylums in the Hesse-Nassau district association. Instead of gassing, deaths were caused by drug poisoning and deliberate starvation. From 1943 to 1945, 88 out of 141 children who were transferred from Scheuern to Kalmenhof died there.
However, 153 individuals from the intermediate transports also died in Scheuern itself, 129 of whom are buried in the local cemetery. Hunger, cold, lack of medical care, and only makeshift care were the causes of the high mortality rate. Moreover, a folding coffin, a type of coffin that was utilized frequently due to the frequency of deaths, is also noted in the Scheuern institution in this context.
Resistance
Director Todt attempted to save long-term residents from deportation by hiding them in the institution or placing them with farmers who needed their labor during harvest time. He also warned residents' relatives of an impending deportation on several occasions to arrange a release before they were taken away. Although families occasionally declined to take in the inmates. In certain instances, incarcerated individuals were converted into prison employees to avoid deportation. In these cases, the transportation supervisor frequently detained other inhabitants for deportation. Presently, it can be assumed that the T4 Central Office tacitly granted the heads of the institutions a certain amount of leeway in this regard. This policy encouraged numerous institutional leaders to cooperate and prevented overt opposition. However, it is noteworthy that fewer fatalities occurred in Scheuern, compared to other equivalently sized institutions designated as intermediate facilities at Hadamar.
Post-war period
Todt and Anthes were arrested by the French occupation authorities after the end of the war. Two trials followed, first at the Koblenz Regional Court and on appeal at the Koblenz Higher Regional Court. Both were acquitted in these proceedings. At first instance, the court held that the two defendants were objectively and subjectively guilty, but that their actions were motivated by the desire to avert even greater harm. In the second instance, the hiding of victims was seen as subversive activity against the crimes, while nothing more was possible.
Following the war, the institution's future direction was debated by the board. The choice was between a return to Protestant-Christian principles or a shift towards general welfare work. The statutes of 1947 reasserted the commitment to diaconia and the Protestant Church, giving rise to the name Heilerziehungs- und Pflegeanstalt Scheuern (Scheuern Nursing and Care Home).
In 1956, the Wichern school, the largest special school for individuals with learning disabilities in Rhineland-Palatinate at that time, opened at the Scheuern Homes with a capacity of 430. The Horny House was then inaugurated in 1959. However, the children's recreation home on Lahnberg closed in 1961.
On February 21, 1962, six months after his wife Marie's death, Karl Todt Jr. died at the age of 75.
The Fischer era
Bernhard Fischer became the new director on December 1, 1963, replacing Werner Stöhr. During the 1960s and 1970s, legal innovations were implemented in the Federal Republic of Germany, which affected living and working conditions in residential care facilities. These innovations were also reflected in the Scheuern Homes. These advancements comprised the Nursing Homes Act, the Severely Disabled Persons Act, the Federal Social Assistance Act, and the Minimum Building Regulations for Nursing Homes. Minimum standards were established for staffing ratios and living conditions, requiring the training of qualified staff in homes. As a result, an internal training course was offered in 1964, replaced by curative education assistant training in 1967. While the employee count rose to 310 by 1973, nearly doubling 1963's 158, the number of residents decreased from 847 to 691 in the same period.
In 1966, an employee representative body was elected for the first time, and in 1970, the name was changed to Heilerziehungs- und Pflegeheime Scheuern (Scheuern residential care and nursing homes).
The institution's infrastructure underwent many expansions, creating new residential facilities. In subsequent years, Laurenburg Castle was leased as a residential home for the elderly, while significant construction projects included the Buchardi House on the Mauch farm in 1967, the Lahnberg residential homes in 1977, and the Schimmerich residential homes in 1984.
In the 1970s, the institution's profile changed again, as a nationwide system of special schools was established in Rhineland-Palatinate, resulting in a significant decline in applications from children and young people with learning disabilities. Consequently, the school's activities are reoriented towards the support of practically educable and severely disabled individuals. This ultimately led to the closure of the Wichern School in 1985. In contrast, many appropriate jobs were generated. The Langauer Mill, offering 180 positions, opened its doors in 1982, followed by the inauguration of the sheltered workshops in Singhofen in 1994. The Rosengarten House was also established in 1995.
From Wikipedia’s article on Scheuern Foundation, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5