Ernst Klee
Encyclopedia
Ernst Klee is a German
journalist
and author
. As a writer on Germany's history, he is best known for his exposure and documentation of the medical crimes of Adolf Hitler
's Third Reich, much of which is concerned with the Action T4
forced euthanasia
program.
and social education.
As a journalist In the 1970s, he looked at socially excluded groups, such as the homeless, psychiatric patients and the disabled. During this period, he collaborated with Gusti Steiner, who laid the foundation for the federal German emancipatory movement of the disabled at that time.
In 1997, he received the Geschwister-Scholl-Preis
("Scholl Siblings Prize") for his book, Auschwitz, die NS-Medizin und ihre Opfer (Auschwitz, Nazi Medicine and Their Victims). In 2001, the city of Frankfurt am Main honored Klee with the Goetheplakette (Goethe Medal) for his book, Deutsche Medizin im Dritten Reich. Karrieren vor und nach 1945 (German Medicine in the Third Reich. Careers before and after 1945). The explanation states that Klee's works "are suitable to support civil freedom, moral and intellectual courage, and to give important impetus to current awareness." Klee's commitment to the importance of disabled people was the decisive factor in the former Westfälische Schule für Körperbehinderte (Westphalian School for the Physically Disabled) in Mettingen
being renamed the Ernst-Klee-Schule in his honor in 2005.
Klee writes for the weekly newspaper, Die Zeit
. There were 27 articles by him between 1974 and 1995. In 2003, he wrote an article criticizing the omission of Nazi activity in the career details of those mentioned in the Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie ("German Biographical Encyclopedia") or his description of the relationship of German artists to the Nazi extermination camps in German-occupied Poland. Contemporary author Karl-Heinz Janßen wrote on February 27, 1987 about Klee, "Contemporary historical research ignores this subject [of medical crimes during the Nazi period]; [...] if it were not for the free-lance journalist, Ernst Klee, who went to the effort of reading thousands of case files and rummaging through archives of institutions, almost nothing would be known today about one of the most horrible atrocities of this century."
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. As a writer on Germany's history, he is best known for his exposure and documentation of the medical crimes of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's Third Reich, much of which is concerned with the Action T4
Action T4
Action T4 was the name used after World War II for Nazi Germany's eugenics-based "euthanasia" program during which physicians killed thousands of people who were "judged incurably sick, by critical medical examination"...
forced euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
program.
Life and work
Klee was first trained as a sanitary and heating technician. Afterwards, he caught up on his university entrance requirements and then studied theologyTheology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and social education.
As a journalist In the 1970s, he looked at socially excluded groups, such as the homeless, psychiatric patients and the disabled. During this period, he collaborated with Gusti Steiner, who laid the foundation for the federal German emancipatory movement of the disabled at that time.
In 1997, he received the Geschwister-Scholl-Preis
Geschwister-Scholl-Preis
The Geschwister-Scholl-Preis is a literary prize which was initiated in 1980 by the State Association of Bavaria in the Stock Market Society of the German Book Trade and the city of Munich...
("Scholl Siblings Prize") for his book, Auschwitz, die NS-Medizin und ihre Opfer (Auschwitz, Nazi Medicine and Their Victims). In 2001, the city of Frankfurt am Main honored Klee with the Goetheplakette (Goethe Medal) for his book, Deutsche Medizin im Dritten Reich. Karrieren vor und nach 1945 (German Medicine in the Third Reich. Careers before and after 1945). The explanation states that Klee's works "are suitable to support civil freedom, moral and intellectual courage, and to give important impetus to current awareness." Klee's commitment to the importance of disabled people was the decisive factor in the former Westfälische Schule für Körperbehinderte (Westphalian School for the Physically Disabled) in Mettingen
Mettingen
Mettingen is a municipality in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Mettingen is situated approx. 25 km east of Rheine and 20 km west of Osnabrück.-Neighbouring places:...
being renamed the Ernst-Klee-Schule in his honor in 2005.
Klee writes for the weekly newspaper, Die Zeit
Die Zeit
Die Zeit is a German nationwide weekly newspaper that is highly respected for its quality journalism.With a circulation of 488,036 and an estimated readership of slightly above 2 million, it is the most widely read German weekly newspaper...
. There were 27 articles by him between 1974 and 1995. In 2003, he wrote an article criticizing the omission of Nazi activity in the career details of those mentioned in the Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie ("German Biographical Encyclopedia") or his description of the relationship of German artists to the Nazi extermination camps in German-occupied Poland. Contemporary author Karl-Heinz Janßen wrote on February 27, 1987 about Klee, "Contemporary historical research ignores this subject [of medical crimes during the Nazi period]; [...] if it were not for the free-lance journalist, Ernst Klee, who went to the effort of reading thousands of case files and rummaging through archives of institutions, almost nothing would be known today about one of the most horrible atrocities of this century."
Documentary
- Die Hölle von Ückermünde. Psychiatrie im Osten. ("The Hell of Ückermünde. Psychiatry in the East") Report, 43 min., Book and direction: Ernst Klee, Production: ARDARD (broadcaster)ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...
, First broadcast: 1993
This report was broadcast by ARD in 1993. The development of psychiatry in "the third year after the German reunificationGerman reunificationGerman reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
", shown in the examples of two institutions in the former East Germany. The film shows shocking treatment of disabled people. The commentary uses the view of those affected. Fifty years after the euthanasia in Germany, this documentation reminds the viewer of it again. Within the setting of criticism of psychiatry, Klee's documentation occupies equal importance with the feature films, "Freaks", "Shock Corridor" and "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest".
Selected Awards
- 1971: Kurt-Magnus-Preis of ARDARD (broadcaster)ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...
- 1981: Television prize of the Deutsche Akademie der Darstellenden Künste
- 1982: Adolf-Grimme-Preis
- 1997: Geschwister-Scholl-PreisGeschwister-Scholl-PreisThe Geschwister-Scholl-Preis is a literary prize which was initiated in 1980 by the State Association of Bavaria in the Stock Market Society of the German Book Trade and the city of Munich...
- 2001: Goetheplakette der Stadt Frankfurt am Main
- 2007: Wilhelm-Leuschner-Medaille
External links
- "Killing by starvation in the institutions and other previous crimes of psychiatry" Speech by Ernst Klee, 1999.
- Short biography at S. Fischer VerlagS. Fischer VerlagThe German publishing house S. Fischer Verlag was founded in 1886 by Samuel Fischer in Berlin and is a leading German address for literary publications and fiction.Originally, it was renowned for naturalism literature...
with picture