Documentary premiere about Hartheim Castle: A memorial to remembrance

Documentary premiere about Hartheim Castle: A memorial to remembrance

On March 28, 2025, the documentary “Hartheim Castle – The Nazi Murder Institute” by director Thomas Hackl and Martina Hechenberger celebrated its premiere on ORF III. This documentary highlights the dark legacy of Hartheim Castle, the largest euthanasia facility in the German Empire, located in Alkoven, Upper Austria. Hackl, who was born nearby, has a personal connection to this historic place. The stories of neighbors and relatives of both the perpetrators and the victims are central components of the film, which deals with the brutal events between 1940 and 1944.

In the documentary, neighbor Gabriele Hofer-Stelzhammer says that year after year he observes visitors before the liberation celebrations of the Mauthausen concentration camp. These visits are part of the commemoration of the victims, the importance of which has been somewhat weakened, particularly by the conversion of the castle into social housing in the community. Olga Stoiber remembers horrific scenes, including the screams of people and the image of a girl in a beautiful dress trapped in Hartheim Castle.

The atrocities in Hartheim

Hartheim Castle was converted into a euthanasia center in the spring of 1940 as part of the so-called “Aktion T4”. The renovation was carried out under the direction of Rudolf Lonauer, a doctor from Linz who ran the killing center. Georg Renno was his deputy and is quoted in the documentary, whereby his lack of insight into the crimes committed is shocking. The first victims of this facility were the former residents who were previously housed there. The gas chamber murders began in May 1940.

As part of the secret euthanasia program, around 30,000 people were murdered in Hartheim from 1940 to 1944. The victims were mainly people with physical and mental disabilities as well as mental illnesses who came from various care facilities and psychiatric institutions. Inmates from concentration camps such as Mauthausen-Gusen who were unable to work were also brought to Hartheim to be gassed.

The legacy of Hartheim Castle

The documentation by Hackl and Hechenberger combines personal stories with current research results on the euthanasia center. These approaches are intended to help people better accept the “sad legacy” of Hartheim and not allow the brutal memories to be forgotten. Historical analyzes show that the killing doctors were not only responsible for the selection and deportation, but also play a central role in the current research and processing.

The first dismantling work on the killing facilities was carried out as early as the turn of 1944/45. This should prevent the previous use of the lock from being remembered. Nevertheless, the memory of the atrocities remains alive, not least through the ongoing efforts to raise awareness and remembrance, such as those taking place in the Hartheim Castle learning and memorial site, which opened in 2003.

Dealing with the past of Hartheim Castle is important because many people who were murdered there were victims of a system that systematically destroyed human lives. Their fate is a reminder of the dangers of ideological extremism and should give us all food for thought.