LIFE Worthy of Life: Voices of Descendants of Euthanasia Victims

The fate of Nazi Euthanasia victims exerts influence on their descendants in the generations to follow. The Euthanasia killings were supposedly intended to further the German race both through the elimination of hereditary diseases and the eradication of people who did not fit into a society of Aryan superiority. In this study, to break through the taboo concerning Euthanasia victims and issues of shame, anger and excepting, decentering with art making is used throughout. This study also reveals the subjective journey of the researcher a descendant of an Euthanasia victim. The findings demonstrate how the atrocities, expressed as intergenerational trauma is uncovered in the repressed conscious and unconscious of the descendants.

Lucia Posey, Dr. phil., M.A., Expressive Arts Therapist and supervisor, adjunct faculty member of the Katholische Hochschule Freiburg, Germany. She is also a visual artist, writes poetry and in the past practiced architecture. She is recipient of the State Foundation of the Culture award, State of Hawaii, USA.