Eva Justin
Encyclopedia
Eva Justin, PhD was a German anthropologist and psychologist.
She was born in Dresden
in 1909, the daughter of a railroad official Charles Justin and his wife Margarethe (née Ebinger). Justin served as an assistant to Nazi psychologist Robert Ritter
in the "Rassenhygienische und Bevölkerungsbiologische Forschungsstelle" (The Research Unit for Racial Hygiene and Population Biology) founded by Ritter in 1936 at the University of Tübingen .
Justin originally trained as a nurse, and received her doctorate in anthropology
in 1944. She also spoke Romani
, thus earning the trust of Roma and Sinti people. Her doctoral dissertation, titled "Lebensschicksale artfremd erzogener Zigeunerkinder und ihrer Nachkommen" (English
: the life history of alien-raised Gypsy children and their descendants), was based on studies of "Gypsy Mischlinge" half-Romani children who were taken from their parents and raised in orphanages and foster homes without any contact with Romani culture.
Richard Thurnwald. After the completion of her studies the 41 children used in the study were deported to the "Gypsy Camp" at Auschwitz on May 9, 1944. Soon after their arrival Josef Mengele
arrived at Auschwitz. Some of the children were subjected to his experiments
and most were eventually killed in the gas chamber
. In 1958, the Frankfurt district attorney initiated an investigation into her wartime actions, but the investigation was closed in 1960, after the district attorney had concluded her actions were subject to the statute of limitations
.
After the war, she was employed as a child psychologist in the social services department of the municipality of Frankfurt am Main working again with Ritter, until shortly before her death from cancer in 1966 in Offenbach am Main a city on the outskirts of Frankfurt.
She was born in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
in 1909, the daughter of a railroad official Charles Justin and his wife Margarethe (née Ebinger). Justin served as an assistant to Nazi psychologist Robert Ritter
Robert Ritter
Robert Ritter, Ph. D. was a German psychologist and physician best known for his work related to the Roma people, that contributed to repressive measures against them....
in the "Rassenhygienische und Bevölkerungsbiologische Forschungsstelle" (The Research Unit for Racial Hygiene and Population Biology) founded by Ritter in 1936 at the University of Tübingen .
Justin originally trained as a nurse, and received her doctorate in anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
in 1944. She also spoke Romani
Romani language
Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is any of several languages of the Romani people. They are Indic, sometimes classified in the "Central" or "Northwestern" zone, and sometimes treated as a branch of their own....
, thus earning the trust of Roma and Sinti people. Her doctoral dissertation, titled "Lebensschicksale artfremd erzogener Zigeunerkinder und ihrer Nachkommen" (English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: the life history of alien-raised Gypsy children and their descendants), was based on studies of "Gypsy Mischlinge" half-Romani children who were taken from their parents and raised in orphanages and foster homes without any contact with Romani culture.
Holocaust
Justin's dissertation was approved by the German ethnologistEthnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
Richard Thurnwald. After the completion of her studies the 41 children used in the study were deported to the "Gypsy Camp" at Auschwitz on May 9, 1944. Soon after their arrival Josef Mengele
Josef Mengele
Josef Rudolf Mengele , also known as the Angel of Death was a German SS officer and a physician in the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. He earned doctorates in anthropology from Munich University and in medicine from Frankfurt University...
arrived at Auschwitz. Some of the children were subjected to his experiments
Nazi human experimentation
Nazi human experimentation was a series of medical experiments on large numbers of prisoners by the Nazi German regime in its concentration camps mainly in the early 1940s, during World War II and the Holocaust. Prisoners were coerced into participating: they did not willingly volunteer and there...
and most were eventually killed in the gas chamber
Gas chamber
A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. The most commonly used poisonous agent is hydrogen cyanide; carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have also been used...
. In 1958, the Frankfurt district attorney initiated an investigation into her wartime actions, but the investigation was closed in 1960, after the district attorney had concluded her actions were subject to the statute of limitations
Statute of limitations
A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...
.
After the war, she was employed as a child psychologist in the social services department of the municipality of Frankfurt am Main working again with Ritter, until shortly before her death from cancer in 1966 in Offenbach am Main a city on the outskirts of Frankfurt.
Further reading
- A Century of Genocide: Critical Essays and Eyewitness Accounts By Samuel Totten, William S. Parsons Publisher: Routledge; 2 edition (August 18, 2004) Language: English ISBN 0415944309 ISBN 978-04159443
- Sinti and Roma: Gypsies in German-speaking society and literature By Susan Tebbutt Language: English ISBN 1571819215 ISBN 978-1571819215
- Auf Wiedersehen im Himmel: Die Geschichte der Angela Reinhardt (See You in Heaven) The story of Angela Reinhardt Publisher: Arena (January 2005) Language: German ISBN 3401027212 ISBN 978-3401027212 One of the children at St. Josephs who was escaped deportation and survived the war.