Germany: Psychiatric Murder: Stolen art/Prinzhorn & Heidelberg
Don Weitz
RETURN THE STOLEN ART TO PSYCHIATRIC SURVIVOR ORGANIZATIONS NOW
To:
Heidelberg University
Fax: 011-49-6221542618
The Minister for Science & Culture, Baden-Wuerttemberg
Fax: 011-49-7112793080
The President of the Federal Republic of Chamber of Doctors
Fax: 011-49-2214004388
Dr. Michael Naumann
Staatminister fur Kultur and Medien
Fax: 011-49-228-56-1808
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN and DOCTOR NAUMANN:
As a psychiatric survivor, antipsychiatry activist and human rights
advocate, I am writing to protest the continuous refusal of Heidelberg
University to return the "Prinzhorn Collection" of art created by former
psychiatric patients to psychiatric survivor organizations in Berlin and
other cities in Germany.
At the same time, I wholeheartedly support the demand in the campaign of
the Landesverband Psychiatrie-Erfanrener Berlin-Brandenburg and the Israeli
Association Against Psychiatric Assault to relocate this collection to "a
proposed museum and memorial in Berlin for the victims of 'euthanasia' and
forced sterilization". These victims of psychiatric crimes and the
Holocaust deserve that much!
I understand that the "Prinzhorn Collection" consists of 6,000 thousand
works of art created by numerous psychiatric patients in pre-World War II
Germany where they were incarcerated in various German psychiatric
institutions. Many of these patient-artists were later sterilized and/or
murdered in "Aktion T-4",the Nazi "euthanasia"-mass murder program, the
first phase of the Holocaust.
I also understand that Hans Prinzhorn, a psychiatrist with a Nazi
ideology who once worked in the psychiatric facility of Heidelberg
University from 1919 to 1921, confiscated thousands of these art works and
included them in his book Bildnerei der Geisteskranken as symptoms of
"mental illness" or examples of "a sick mind". Despite the fact that this
art had a major influence on the modern art movement in Germany, the Nazis
later labeled it "Entarte Kunst"(degenerate art).
Prinzhorn's exploitation of this valuable and unique art collection for
his own benefit and Heidelberg University's refusal to return this
collection to psychiatric survivor organizations in Germany is inexcusable
and shameful, if not criminal. As a psychiatric survivor, I identify with
the thousands of psychiatric patients, my brothers and sisters, abused and
exploited in German psychiatric hospitals including the Heidelberg
psychiatric facility, then brutally murdered.
I also deeply resent the fact that this art created by patients in what
must have been incredibly oppressive and
inhumane conditions was stolen and exploited by psychiatrist Prinzhorn,
then stored-and-protected by Heidelberg University, a willing partner in
this crime.
This exploitation-and-theft is another blatant assault against the memory
and courage of German psychiatric survivors in particular, and attack on
the proud history of the world-wide psychiatric survivor movement in
general.
This deplorable situation is a sharp reminder of the leading role which
German psychiatrists and universities played in the Holocaust and which
many German universities and government officials continue to deny.
If this art collection is not returned to survivor groups in Germany and
if no museum or memorial is erected, I refuse to travel to Germany and will
urge my friends to do the same. I also will explain my reasons to many
psychiatric survivor and human rights organizations in Canada and the
United States. I also will broadcast interviews with representatives of
German and Israeli survivor groups on this issue for my radio program in
Toronto. Believe me - I will spread the word on this very serious human
rights violation.
Please acknowledge receipt of this letter, and I would appreciate your reply.
Sincerely,
Don Weitz
Toronto, Canada
fax: 416-545-0796
E-mail: dwe...@interlog.com
c: Fredudeskreis Museum "Haus des Eigensinn"
Israeli Association Against Psychiatric Assault
Support Coalition International
Human Rights Institute (Ottawa)
Media