The British Broadcasting Channel presented a one-hour clip titled “The Deaf Holocaust.” This clipped went through the hardships faced by the Deaf community at the time and interviewed a few people who were Deaf children during this time. This opened up a new side to Nazi Germany that I have not learned in school. The film included German, British, and Spanish sign language as well as a vocal interpreter. When Hitler started to rise to power, Deaf people were initially behind his efforts. He made promises of cutting inflation, unemployment, and restoring national pride. The Deaf community thought that this would benefit them and help them become equal; all they wanted was a better life. Within four months, Jewish Deaf communities began to …show more content…
Deaf individuals were correlated with feeble mindedness in these videos and presented as a financial drain on society. They were also constantly associated with “deaf and dumb.” Albreghs actually supported this new law stating it was to ensure genetic health. The Deaf community nodded in agreement meekly but they felt powerless by this point. The Nazi party also used churches to promote the sterilization of the Deaf. Pastors would say during services how unhappy the Deaf were and how unhappy their families were of a Deaf person. They tried making them feel bad and willingly come in to get sterilized. An older woman was interviewed who had been a Deaf youth during this time. Her school would send home letters telling her to come in for sterilization but her mother would throw them out in disbelief. Unfortunately, the rest of her family believed she should be due to these propaganda videos and sermons and eventually she went. She was sterilized at the age of thirteen. She stated that if one did not willingly go, the police would come and take