Werner Heyde (aka Fritz Sawade) (born April 25, 1902 in Forst, died February 13, 1964 in Frankfurt) was a German psychiatrist. He was one of the main organizers Nazi Germany's T-4 Euthanasia Program. April 25 is the 115th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (116th in leap years). ... 1902 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Forst, Lausitz is a city in Brandenburg, Germany. ... February 13 is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...   Frankfurt am Main? [ˈfraÅ‹kfÊŠrt] is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany. ... Psychiatry is a branch of medicine that studies and treats mental and emotional disorders (see mental illness). ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... This poster reads: This person suffering from hereditary defects costs the community of the people 60,000 Reichsmark during his lifetime. ...

Education

Heyde completed his Abitur in 1920. From 1922 to 1925 he studied medicine in Berlin, Freiburg, Marburg and Würzburg and after short placements at the General Hospital in Cottbus and the sanatorium Berlin-Wittenau became assistant doctor at the Universitätsnervenklinik (university psychiatric hospital) in Würzburg. He obtained his licence to practice medicine in 1926, having completed all courses throughout his studies with top ranks. Abitur (official term in Germany: allgemeine Hochschulreife) is the word commonly used in Germany for the final exams young adults (aged 18 or 19) take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling (Britain: A-levels). ... 1920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ...   Berlin? (pronounced: , German ) is the capital of Germany and its largest city; down from 4. ... Freiburgs location in Germany Freiburg city from Schlossberg Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in the Breisgau region, on the western edge of the southern Black Forest (German: Schwarzwald) with about 214,000 inhabitants. ... Marburg is a city in Hesse, Germany, on the Lahn river. ... Würzburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. ... Map of Germany showing Cottbus Cottbus (Sorbian: ChoÅ›ebuz, Czech: ChotÄ›buz, Polish: Chociebuż, archaic German: Kottbus) is a city in Brandenburg, Germany, situated around 125 km southeast of Berlin on the Spree river. ... 1926 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Career until 1945

In 1933, Heyde made the acquaintance of Theodor Eicke, and became member of the NSDAP. One year later he was appointed director of the polyclinic in Würzburg. In 1935 he entered the SS as medical officer with the rank of a SS-Hauptsturmführer, and became commander of the medical unit in the SS-Totenkopfverbände. There he was responsible for establishing a system of psychiatric and eugenic examinations and research in concentration camps, and for the organisation of the T-4 Euthanasia Program. Additionally, he also worked as a psychiatric consultant for the Gestapo. 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Theodor Eicke (October 17, 1892 - February 26, 1943) was a Nazi official, SS-Obergruppenführer, commander of the Totenkopfdivision of the SS and one of the key figures in the establishment of concentration camps in Nazi Germany. ... The Nazi swastika The National Socialist German Workers Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), better known as the NSDAP or the Nazi Party was a political party that was led to power in Germany by Adolf Hitler in 1933. ... 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... SS or ss or Ss may be: The Schutzstaffel, a Nazi paramilitary force Steamship (SS) (ship prefix) The United States Secret Service A submarine not powered by nuclear energy (SS) (United States Navy designator), see SSN A Soviet/Russian surface-to-surface missile, as listed by NATO reporting name Shortstop... The SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV) — the Deaths Head Formations — were made up of Nazi Germanys concentration camp guards. ... A concentration camp is a large detention center created for political opponents, aliens, specific ethnic or religious groups, civilians of a critical war-zone, or other groups of people, often during a war. ... The Deaths Head emblem, often used as the insignia of the Gestapo The   Gestapo? (acronym of Geheime Staatspolizei; secret state police) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ...

In 1938, he was appointed chief of staff of the medical department in the SS-Hauptamt (headquarters); in 1939, he became professor for psychiatry and neurology at the University of Würzburg, and from 1940 on he also was director of the psychiatric hospital. 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Hey. ...

He was replaced as head of the T4 program by Paul Nitsche in 1941, but continued his involvement as member of the "department Brack" (after the end of World War II, it was never found out what his role there was). Hermann Paul Nitsche (born November 25, 1876 in Colditz, died March 25, 1948 in Dresden) was a German psychiatrist known for his expert endorsement of the Third Reichs euthanasia authorization and who later headed the T-4 Euthanasia Program. ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In 1944 he was awarded the SS-Totenkopfring, and before the end of the war reached the rank of SS-Standartenführer (Colonel). 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Life after 1945

After World War II Heyde was interned and imprisoned, but escaped in 1947. He went underground using the alias Fritz Sawade and continued practicing as sports physician and psychiatrist in Flensburg. Many friends and associates knew about his real identity, but remained silent even as he was an expert witness in court cases. His true identity was revealed in the course of a private quarrel in 1959. He was imprisoned in Frankfurt/Main, but committed suicide before the start of the trial in 1964. World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that engulfed much of the globe... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Statistics State: Schleswig-Holstein District: Independent city Area: 56. ... 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...   Frankfurt am Main? [ˈfraÅ‹kfÊŠrt] is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany. ...

Literature

• Klee, Ernst, Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. S. Fischer Verlag 2003. ISBN 3-10-039309-0
• Godau-Schüttke, Klaus-Detlev, Die Heyde/Sawade-Affäre. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft 1998. ISBN 3-7890-5717-7

See also

• Ethnic cleansing
• Eugenics
• Genocide
• National Socialist Party
• Psychiatry
• Racial hygiene
• racial policy of Nazi Germany
• T-4 Euthanasia Program
• Friedrich Panse