C5 Sterilised

The 1933 Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring legalised the forced sterilisation of all men and women the Nazis considered undesirable to society, including people with physical or mental disabilities, members of allegedly “inferior races” and so-called “born criminals”. Between 1933 and 1945, more than 400,000 people were sterilised against their will, including many Roma and Sinti. For some men and women sterilisation meant they escaped being sent to the concentration camps, but others were forcibly sterilised after deportation to a camp. The law was not repealed until 1988! No compensation was ever paid to the victims.