August, 1939. The German Ministry of the Interior issues a decree requiring physicians and nurses register all retarded or deformed children under the age of three, and midwives to report all newborns with severe disabilities.

The decree followed a precedent set by a German couple who sought Hitler's permission to have their severely deformed child, Gerhard Kretschmar, put to death. Hitler granted their request and authorized the creation of the Reichsausschuss zur wissenschaftlichen Erfassung erb- und anlagebedingter schwerer Leiden (Reich Committee for the Scientific Registering of Serious Hereditary and Congenital Illnesses) to approve applications to kill children under similar circumstances. Children determined to have "severe hereditary diseases" including but not limited to Down syndrome, microcephaly, hydrocephaly, malformations and spastic conditions were targeted for euthanasia.

Please see the Wikipedia pages on Action T-4 and Gerhard Kretchmar for more information about this decree.

-Amy Dyrbye