Ernst-Robert Grawitz (8 June 1899 – 24 April 1945) was a German physician and an SS functionary (''Reichsarzt'', "arzt" meaning "physician") during the Nazi era.

Biography

Grawitz was born in

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Prussia, it is best known for Charlottenburg Palace, the ...

, in the western part of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. As ''Reichsarzt SS und Polizei'' (Reich Physician SS and Police), Grawitz was also head of the

German Red Cross The German Red Cross (german: Deutsches Rotes Kreuz ; DRK) is the national Red Cross Society in Germany. With 4 million members, it is the third largest Red Cross society in the world. The German Red Cross offers a wide range of services withi ...

. Grawitz funded Nazi programs to "eradicate the perverted world of the homosexual" and research into a so-called "cure" for homosexuality. This involved experimentation on inmates in Nazi concentration camps. He was in charge of "enthusiastic" experiments on concentration camp inmates.Evans, Richard (2009) 008 ''The Third Reich at War'', p. 729. Grawitz was also a part of the group in charge of the murder of

mentally ill A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

and physically handicapped people in the

Action T4 (German, ) was a campaign of mass murder by involuntary euthanasia in Nazi Germany. The term was first used in post-war trials against doctors who had been involved in the killings. The name T4 is an abbreviation of 4, a street address of t ...

" euthanasia" programme, including children from 1939. The officials selected the doctors who were to carry out the operational part of the killing programme.Lifton, R. J. (1986). ''The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide'', p. 64. In addition, researchers both in and outside the SS wanted to exploit the supply of inmates held in the SS camps and use them for experiments.Weale, Adrian (2012). ''Army of Evil: A History of the SS'', p. 100. In order to do so, the interested parties had to apply to Grawitz, who forwarded requests to ''

Reichsführer-SS (, ) was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the (SS). ''Reichsführer-SS'' was a title from 1925 to 1933, and from 1934 to 1945 it was the highest rank of the SS. The longest-servi ...

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

who then gave final approval. Towards the end of World War II in Europe, Grawitz was a physician in

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

's '' Führerbunker''. When he heard that other officials were leaving Berlin in order to escape the advancing Soviet

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

, Grawitz petitioned Hitler to allow him to leave Berlin; his request was denied. As the Soviet Army advanced on

, Grawitz killed himself and his family with grenades at their house in

Babelsberg Babelsberg () is the largest quarter ('' Stadtteil'') of Potsdam, the capital city of the German state of Brandenburg. The affluent neighbourhood named after a small hill on the Havel river is famous for Babelsberg Palace and Park, part of the Pala ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grawitz, Ernst-Robert 1899 births 1945 deaths 1945 suicides 20th-century Freikorps personnel Aktion T4 personnel Deaths by hand grenade Familicides German Red Cross personnel Joint suicides by Nazis Kapp Putsch participants Nazi concentration camp personnel Nazis who committed suicide in Germany People from Charlottenburg Physicians from Berlin Physicians in the Nazi Party SS-Obergruppenführer Suicides by explosive device Waffen-SS personnel