Jonny Vogel
* 1891

Jonny Vogel, born on 2.10.1891 in Hamburg, admitted on 8.5. 1907 to the former Alsterdorfer Anstalten (now the Protestant Foundation Alsterdorf), on 7.8.1943 “transferred” to the “Eichberg Mental Hospital,” on 12.10.1943 “transferred“ to the “Hadamar Mental Hospital,” where he died on 3.1.1944

Langenfelder Damm 38 (formerly Langenfelder Damm 28)

Jonny Vogel was born on October 2, 1891, in Hamburg. His parents were Carl Gottfried Vogel, born on October 2, 1851, a wood turner by profession, and Henriette Christine Friederike Vogel, née Henkel, born on October 10, 1850, in Oldenburg/Holstein. His parents had married in Hamburg on May 20, 1879.

Jonny Vogel was the eighth of nine children: Otto, born on May 9, 1880, Emmy, born on January 25, 1882, Willy, born on July 29, 1883, Alma, born on October 28, 1884, Paul, born on October 12, 1885, Anna, born on June 27, 1888, Carl, born on August 15, 1889, and Frieda, born on October 2, 1893. Another possible sibling was stillborn.

Jonny Vogel was baptized Protestant on August 19, 1894, and confirmed on March 10, 1907.

His birth was difficult and required the use of forceps. We know almost nothing about the boy's childhood and early youth. He was referred to the General Poorhouse several times. This Hamburg institution for the care and welfare of the poor provided medical care for the poor and support during pregnancy and childbirth, among other things. After his last visit to the poorhouse on April 18, 1907, a poorhouse doctor transferred him to the Alsterdorf Asylum (“Alsterdorfer Anstalten”) in Hamburg “due to mental deficiency (Schwachsinn) at the expense of the General Poorhouse.” (The term “Schwachsinn”, which is no longer used today, referred to a reduction in intelligence or congenital intellectual disability.) The fact that the costs were covered by the General Poorhouse indicates that the Vogel family lived in precarious economic circumstances.

The family lived for many years in Ottensen, a district of the then independent city of Altona. Between 1886 and 1888, they moved to Hamburg-Eimsbüttel on Langenfelderdamm, where they changed addresses several times. When Jonny Vogel was born, the family lived at Langenfelderdamm 113.

Jonny Vogel was admitted to the former Alsterdorfer Asylum (Alsterdorfer Anstalten now the Protestant Foundation Alsterdorf) on May 8, 1907. At that time, the Vogel family lived at Langenfelderdamm 28 (now Langenfelder Damm 38).

Both his history and his life after admission to Alsterdorf are documented in his “patient file”, which still exists today. The medical examination on the day of admission revealed that he was 132 cm tall and weighed 32.5 kg. At the age of 15, it was already apparent that he was rather small, and this did not change in adulthood. In 1928, Jonny Vogel was 147.5 cm tall.

The diagnosis was imbecility (an outdated term for impaired cognitive abilities). Jonny had attended a special school. When he was admitted, he could write his name but not sentences. During his time in Alsterdorf, Jonny Vogel attended the asylum‘s school. A report about him during fourth grade (first grade was the highest grade at the time) said the following about him: "He always behaves well and shows great diligence. He is neat and tidy, reads German print quite well, but is hindered in speech by stuttering. He does prepared dictation very well and neatly. He learns the teaching- and memorization material quite well and with understanding. He is well-behaved, friendly and quiet. He performs simple calculations in the range of 1–20 satisfactorily. Despite his keen attention, he observes and judges only moderately. He still draws simple things very clumsily. Gymnastics: almost satisfactory. Singing: not at all. Progress: very slight. Intelligence: low."

The family took care of Jonny. He was always given leave to visit his parents at Christmas, and sometimes on his birthday and other days. His father died on January 13, 1919, at the Eppendorf General Hospital. His mother also died at a time unknown to us. From 1926 onwards, Jonny Vogel was often given leave to visit his sister Alma, who had been married to the plumber Alfred Geilich since 1922.

During his first years at the Alsterdorf Asylum, Jonny Vogel had to go to the hospital frequently: angina, herpes, frostbite, heart defects, eczema, tooth extraction. In 1924, it was documented that he needed help getting dressed, did light housework, and ran errands. His school skills had been lost, but he was clean and “easygoing.” In 1928, he was described as a loyal and hard-working person who took touching care of helpless who need care. In 1930, his character was described as hardly changed, but he was described as “stupid.” In 1932, it was noted that Jonny Vogel had asked the caregiver to write many cards to his relatives and ask for visits. From 1934 onwards, he was said to have often complained about the food and therefore hoarded bread. From 1937 onwards, his complaints seem to have subsided. He was now described as calmer.

In one of his reports to the “welfare system” in 1936, senior physician and SA member Gerhard Kreyenberg wrote that Jonny Vogel suffered from “moderate mental deficiency” ("Schwachsinn mittleren Grades" another derogatory and outdated term for cognitive impairment). He had almost no schooling and was kept busy with simple household chores. Recently, he had become slower and “more physically frail.”

Jonny Vogel's weight was regularly recorded in the files of the Alsterdorf Asylum. From 1928 to 1938, it fluctuated between 47 and 52 kg. From 1939 onwards, Jonny Vogel's weight began to decline. By the time he was transferred in 1943, he weighed only 36.4 kg at times. No specific reasons for the weight loss are noted.

During the heavy air raids on Hamburg in the summer of 1943 (Operation Gomorrah), the Alsterdorf Asylum also suffered damage on the night of July 29/30, 1943, and then again on August 3/4, 1943. The director of the institution, SA member Pastor Friedrich Lensch, asked the health authorities for permission to transfer 750 patients, allegedly to make room for the wounded and those affected by the bombing. Between August 7 and 16, a total of 468 girls, women, boys, and men were transported in three shipments to the Eichberg State Hospital near Wiesbaden, the Kalmenhof Sanatorium in Idstein in the Rheingau region, the Mainkofen Sanatorium near Passau, and the Am Steinhof State Hospital in Vienna.

Jonny Vogel arrived at the Eichberg State Hospital on August 7, 1943, in a collective transport together with 75 other children and men. The last entry in his Hamburg medical file, dated August 6, 1943, reads: “Transferred to Eichberg due to severe damage to the facilities caused by an air raid.”

From there, Jonny Vogel was transferred to the Hadamar State Hospital on October 12, 1943, together with 23 other men. All 24 men died there between October 14, 1943, and January 3, 1944.

From January to August 1941, Hadamar was one of six killing centers involved in “Aktion T4.” After the official end of the gas murders, killings continued in Hadamar with overdoses of medication. Under the direction of the institution's director, Dr. Adolf Wahlmann (1876-1956), people were killed by injections of morphine, feeding them poisoned food, and/or systematic malnutrition.

There are no records of Jonny Vogel in either Eichberg or Hadamar. He was murdered on January 3, 1944, at 6 a.m. His death certificate states: „idiocy, decay, heart failure, decay due to idiocy“.

His family was not informed. On August 5, 1946, his brother Willy Vogel wrote a letter to the Alsterdorfer Asylum asking about his brother's whereabouts. He and his siblings were then told that their brother Jonny had already „died“ two and a half years earlier..

Translation: Ingo Wille