Sanatorium of death in Lubliniec

Lubliniec

On 17th September 1939 German authorities appointed Dr Ernest Buchalik the administrator of Lubiniec hospital. A  doctor from the local Toszek, since 1933 a member of NSDAP he was notorious for his hostility to the Polish population. Like other mental hospitals, the Lubliniec outpost, which then changed its name into Landes-Heil-und Pflegeanstalt Lublinitz, started to take transports of children as early as September 1941, mainly from Silesia, the Basin and Saksonia. These children were handed over by German courts and NSV (Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt - National Socialist Folk Social Welfare). Every time the children were told, that they were going to a sanatorium, while, in fact, it was a "sanatorium of death". In the mid-year 1942 Jugendpsychiatrische of Loben Clinics - Children's Psychiatric Clinics - was organised. At first children were placed in ward "A", situated in the rooms of the oblates' monastery, which was superintended by Dr Elisabeth Hecker, and in the former farm building (ward "B"), headed by Dr E. Buchalik. Later ward "A" was in the castle, next to the women's ward. "A" was an observation ward. There children were diagnosed and sorted, and their fate depended on E. Hecker. Children, who were diagnosed by E. Hecker as minimally handicapped, or too difficult from the educational point of view, were referred to special young offenders' institutions.  The other children, with inborn or acquired physical disabilities and mental illnesses, were transferred to "B" ward, where they were put to death. Medical documentation was forged in order to cover up the traces, various false causes of death were given, like e.g.: pneumonia, influenza, cardiovascular diseases. By the orders of E. Buchalik children were killed with the increased dose of Luminal or diethylbarbituric acid.

All children after receiving Luminal vomited, some seemingly got used to it, sometimes they staggered, felt dizzy , however they ate well, ran, played. Others reacted more strongly, were constantly in half-sleep, lay limply. After a certain time they started having a high fever, stopped eating, wheezed and foam which was sometimes bloody came from their mouths, and in the end they died . According to the statistical data, till November 1944, barbiturates  were given to 235 children in ward 'B", which caused the death of  221 children.

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