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March 8, 2002
Lessons on disabilities
Nazi policy on handicapped has resonance now.
DR. SALLY M. ROGOW SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
The current exhibit at the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre
on the killings that took place in Germany's leading psychiatric
hospitals during the Nazi era reveals the tragic consequences of
isolating and refusing to acknowledge the humanity of people with
disabilities.
The gas chambers were first developed in psychiatric hospitals and
institutions for people with mental illnesses or disabilities. It
is a myth that only those with severe disabilities were affected.
Orphans, children and young people with behavior problems and those
with minor disabilities were also institutionalized and thousands
were murdered.
Whether acquired through accident or birth, people with disabilities
were targeted as "useless eaters," a "burden"
on society and a threat to the health of the nation. Propaganda
films used distorted images to portray people with disabilities.
Regardless of cause, type or severity of disability, it was considered
an "hereditary illness." Nurses and attendants at the
institutions observed that many newly arriving children spoke fluently
and could read and write, but this did not prevent them from being
described as "hopeless cases." Children under five years
of age were sent directly to state institutions. In 1939, a few
days after war was declared, Hitler issued the decree that gave
physicians the authority to establish the killing wards. The Nazi
genocide of people with disabilities claimed more than a quarter
of a million lives.
In 1941, the gas chambers were dismantled and reassembled at the
death camps, but the killing of people with disabilities was driven
into deeper secrecy and continued as wild euthanasia. Many of the
same physicians who administered the killing wards in psychiatric
hospitals were transferred to the death camps. Henry Friedlander,
a noted Holocaust scholar said that the brutal campaign to eliminate
people with disabilities from German society was the first chapter
of the Holocaust.
Disregard of the humanity of people with disabilities creates the
conditions that make victims of defenceless and dependent people.
Stereotyping, labeling, isolating and excluding people with disabilities
from mainstream society robs them of a sense of identity and a sense
of belonging. Exclusion from mainstream society fosters social distancing
and encourages thinking about people with disabilities as "cases"
to be treated rather than as human beings. When any group of people
are socially distanced, removed from society, labeled and stereotyped,
they are made vulnerable to a wide range of abuses.
The way society views individuals who have disabilities is a measure
of its humanity and sense of community. Much pro-gress has been
made in education and treatment, but children and adults with disabilities
are still labeled and marginalized.
People with disabilities have the right to be seen as people with
talents and abilities, able and willing to contribute to society.
Invisible barriers exclude them from participation in the larger
community. Physical barriers preclude attendance when there is no
wheelchair accessibility, information is difficult to access when
there is no effort to reach those who cannot read print or those
who depend on sign language.
People with disabilities teach us to appreciate the courage and
dignity of those who live with challenges and hardships. They teach
us that there are different ways of experiencing the world. They
show us that the human spirit need not be constrained by physical
or mental limitations.
People with disabilities are finding their voice in the Jewish community.
The advocates committee, a sub-committee of the Jewish Federation
of Greater Vancouver, is seeking to open doors and enable participation.
The Bagel Club, a social club for adults with developmental and
other disabilities meets regularly in the Jewish Community Centre.
They are also willing volunteers in community projects. Beth Israel
launched a project - Opening Hearts, Minds and Doors - to facilitate
participation in synagogue activities. The advocates are preparing
materials for Jewish organizations to enable their participation.
Efforts to accommodate children and young people with disabilities
in Jewish education have begun. There is still a long way to go.
Community awareness of the people with disabilities who live among
us is vital. It is only with the support of the entire Jewish community
that real inclusion will become a reality.
Dr. Sally M. Rogow is a professor emerita, faculty of
education of the University of British Columbia.
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