Guided tour of the history of the LVR Clinic Viersen: Experience light and shadow!

Guided tour of the history of the LVR Clinic Viersen: Experience light and shadow!

Next week, the LVR Clinic Viersen will be offering a special tour of the history of its facilities. It starts on Wednesday, September 9th, at 6 p.m. in front of the headquarters building, Johannisstraße 70, in Viersen. Under the motto “Light and Shadow”, Beatrix Wolters, a dedicated member of the marketing team, will guide visitors through the history of the former Johannistal Provincial Sanatorium and Nursing Home, which forms the roots of today’s clinic. This institution was founded in 1897 by the provincial administration.

The tour will not only enable a journey through time through the history of the clinic, but will also address difficult topics. Participants will learn how the clinic was affected by the effects of the First and Second World Wars and the Great Depression. Particular attention is paid to the period of National Socialism, which shaped not only the history of the country, but also the lives of many patients in psychiatric institutions in Germany.

The dark history of psychiatry under National Socialism

The dark chapters of “Aktion T4” are also covered during the tour. This systematic murder campaign began in 1939 and claimed the lives of over 70,000 mentally ill and mentally handicapped people. An important date is October 1939, when Adolf Hitler gave the order to kill “life unworthy of living”. At that time, almost 24,000 people were living in psychiatric facilities in the Rhineland; vast numbers of them were killed as part of state programs or suffered in inhumane conditions.

Over 1,100 people also became victims of terror at the Johannistal sanatorium and nursing home, which was active during National Socialism. These included almost 100 disabled children who were tragically killed by sleeping pills. These terrible circumstances illustrate how important it is to engage with history. Information about the National Socialist past of the clinical facilities is available in a brochure that is distributed after the tour.

Coming to terms with the past

The LVR Clinic Viersen and the Rhineland Regional Association (LVR) take responsibility for their own history and crimes during the Nazi era. Since the 1980s, the LVR has been intensively involved in dealing with these offenses. Many of the doctors involved in the crimes were not held accountable after the war, which still raises questions about responsibility.

Overall, there is no need to register for the tour in advance. Anyone interested is warmly invited to take part and deal with the light and dark sides of the clinic's history.

A call for willingness to deal with the past is just as necessary as the usual food for thought about the present. Events like these offer the opportunity to gain knowledge and develop an awareness of social challenges.

For more information about this important event, the LVR website is available: Lokalklick.eu, as well as deeper insights into history lvr.de and dgppn.de.