October 1939 Germans begin killing of people with disabilities.
October 1939 Germans begin killing of people with disabilities. The systematic killing begins of those Germans whom the Nazis deem "unworthy of life." Groups of "consultants" visit hospitals and nursing homes and decide who is to die. Selected patients are sent to one of six gassing installations established as part of the "Euthanasia" Program: Bernburg, Brandenburg, Grafeneck, Hadamar, Hartheim, and Sonnenstein. These patients are killed in gas chambers using carbon monoxide gas. The experts who participated in the "Euthanasia" Program are later instrumental in establishing and operating the killing centers established for the mass murder of Jews. December 8, 1941 First killing center begins operation. The Chelmno killing center begins operation. The Nazis later establish four other such camps: Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, and Auschwitz-Birkenau (part of the Auschwitz camp complex). Victims at Chelmno are killed in gas vans (hermetic