From 1941 to 1945, nearly 15,000 people were murdered at the Hadamar killing centre. They died in the course of the Nazi “euthanasia” crimes.
The main building of the killing centre was first built in 1883 to house a “correctional institution” – that is, a workhouse. In 1906, the facility became a psychiatric hospital: the Hadamar State Sanatorium (Landesheilanstalt Hadamar).
From January to August of 1941, the majority of the people who were murdered here during the “T4” programme were mentally and/or physically disabled. Between 1942 and 1945, the site once again served as a killing centre – this time in the course of the “decentralised euthanasia” programme.
Today, Hadamar Memorial Museum is located in the main building of the former killing centre.