Difference between revisions of "Portal:Featured Article Of The Week"

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{{FAformat
 
{{FAformat
|Title= Grafeneck
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|Title= Retreat State Hospital
|Image= Grafenec.jpg
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|Image= Retreat_Asylum_RPPC.JPG
 
|Width= 150px
 
|Width= 150px
|Body= On the site of a former medieval castle, between 1556 and 1560 Grafeneck Castle was built on a hill near Marbach. During 1762 and 1772, Duke Karl Eugen converted the castle to a contemporary style. In 1929 a Samaritan (Samariterstiftung) foundation took over the building in order to install a home for physically and mentally handicapped persons.
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|Body= The Central Poor District was first set up in 1860 by an act of the State Legislature and 146 acres of land were subsequently purchased for the purpose of erecting buildings for the care of the poor. This land was located in Newport Township, Luzerne County along the banks of the Susquehanna River and about 14 miles from Wilkes-Barre. Outdoor pavilions were established to care for the poor on this land until 1878 when a need was seen for additional space and more permanent facilities. A Female Ward was erected in 1878, a Male Ward in1884, and an addition was added to the Male Ward in 1895. Together, these comprised the Luzerne County Almshouse.
  
On 24 May 1939, a first visitation by members of Aktion T4 took place in order to find out if the building could be used for their program, and on 14 October Grafeneck Castle was duly confiscated. Between 10 and 15 manual laborers from nearby villages started to convert the castle into a killing center.
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By 1890, the District took on the responsibility of caring for mentally ill patients and in 1900 the new Hospital for the Insane opened its door at the site. Sometime between 1921 and 1926 the name was changed to Retreat Mental Hospital, although it was still governed by the Central Poor District of Luzerne County. By an Act of the Legislature in 1937 the haphazard system of Poor Districts was abolished, and County Institution Districts were set up. Though County Commissioners assumed control of poor and indigent sick relief in the counties, management of individual institutions remained the same.  [[Retreat State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
 
300 m away from the castle several barracks were built, fenced in with a hoarding up to 4 m high. On the first floor of the castle the following facilities were installed: accommodations and offices for the doctors, a registry office, a police office, the office for the comfort letters and others. On the second floor, small living- and sleeping rooms for the personnel were installed. The main building of the killing facility was a barrack (68 m long and 7 m wide), which included several rooms. In one of them 100 beds were placed, covered with straw-bags. Three big buses for transportation of the victims and an ambulance car stood in a wooden garage. Two mobile cremation ovens were located in another wooden barrack. Because of the immense heat, generated by the round-the-clock cremation, the roof of the barrack was removed and after a short time the surrounding trees even blackened. The gas chamber, resembling a shower bath, could hold 75 persons. A former horse stable (round and 15 m in diameter) probably served as storage room for the corpses. At the bottom of the hill, at the access road, a high hoarding and a guardhouse were built. Fences with barbed wire surrounded the whole castle whilst armed guards with dogs patrolled these perimeters.  [[Grafeneck|Click here for more...]]
 
 
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Latest revision as of 05:30, 26 May 2024

Featured Article Of The Week

Retreat State Hospital


Retreat Asylum RPPC.JPG

The Central Poor District was first set up in 1860 by an act of the State Legislature and 146 acres of land were subsequently purchased for the purpose of erecting buildings for the care of the poor. This land was located in Newport Township, Luzerne County along the banks of the Susquehanna River and about 14 miles from Wilkes-Barre. Outdoor pavilions were established to care for the poor on this land until 1878 when a need was seen for additional space and more permanent facilities. A Female Ward was erected in 1878, a Male Ward in1884, and an addition was added to the Male Ward in 1895. Together, these comprised the Luzerne County Almshouse.

By 1890, the District took on the responsibility of caring for mentally ill patients and in 1900 the new Hospital for the Insane opened its door at the site. Sometime between 1921 and 1926 the name was changed to Retreat Mental Hospital, although it was still governed by the Central Poor District of Luzerne County. By an Act of the Legislature in 1937 the haphazard system of Poor Districts was abolished, and County Institution Districts were set up. Though County Commissioners assumed control of poor and indigent sick relief in the counties, management of individual institutions remained the same. Click here for more...