Heinrich Gross

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For the rabbi with the same name, see Heinrich Gross (rabbi).

Heinrich Gross (November 14, 1915 – December 15, 2005) was an Austrian psychiatrist, medical doctor and neurologist, best known for his proven involvement in the killing of at least nine children with physical, mental and/or emotional/behavioral characteristics considered "unclean" by the Nazi regime. His role in hundreds of other unproven cases of infanticide is unclear. A significant element of the controversy surrounding Dr. Gross' activities is that after the children had been murdered, parts of their bodies, particularly their brains, were preserved and retained for future study for decades after the murders. It was only on April 28, 2002 that the preserved remains of these murdered children were finally buried.

The murder program at Am Spiegelgrund, Vienna, where Gross was a leading doctor, was intended by the Nazis to research eugenics and accomplish the murder of individuals considered by the regime to constitute life unworthy of life.

There were at least two criminal actions brought against Dr. Gross for his alleged role in these atrocities against children, one a few years after the end of World War II which resulted in a conviction for manslaughter, which was later overturned on a technicality. A more recent attempt to convict Dr. Gross for his involvement in the murders of nine of the children was indefinitely suspended due to a successful claim that, due to his advanced age and alleged senility, Dr. Gross was unfit to stand trial. However, many dispute this claim,[who?] since he gave an interview at a coffeehouse shortly after he was found unfit to stand trial, which many submit as evidence that he is in fact, mentally sound and able to understand the charges against him and participate in his defense.

Finally, his Honorary Cross for Science and Art (awarded in 1975) was stripped in 2003.

Dr. Gross' ability to avoid being found criminally liable for the murders he is alleged to be involved in may reflect a combination of luck and political connections,[who?] more than a bona fide lack of guilt in this crime. He had been captured by the Soviet army following the war, and thus was unavailable to be tried at Nuremberg, where others involved in the program were punished. The favorable outcomes he enjoyed at his two criminal trials may[who?] reflect that, since he was regularly used by the Austrian courts to provide psychological profiles of criminal defendants and to opine on their ability to stand trial (which examinations were revealed by a documentary to have been conducted at an average rate of twice a working day, shedding doubt upon their objectivity and the validity of the opinions expressed),[citation needed] that he perhaps received treatment that could be characterized as preferential or biased in his favor.

[edit] External links

  • Gross symbolises Austria's past [1]
  • BBC News Online: World: Europe [2]
  • "Life Unworthy of Life" and other Medical Killing Programmes[3]
  • Doc accused of Nazi clinic atrocities dies [4]
  • Florian P. Thomas, Alana Beres, and Michael I. Shevell "A Cold Wind Coming": Heinrich Gross and Child Euthanasia in Vienna. J Child Neurol 2006 21: 342-348.