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TY - THES AU - Ohnhäuser, Tim TI - Verfolgungssuizide – Die Selbsttötungen im Kontext der nationalsozialistischen Deportationen und das Lebensende von Arthur Nicolaier (1862-1942) PB - Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen VL - Dissertation CY - Aachen M1 - RWTH-2025-00388 SP - 1 Online-Ressource : Illustrationen PY - 2024 N1 - Veröffentlicht auf dem Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen University 2025 N1 - Dissertation, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, 2024 AB - Background - This study examines the suicides of Jewish individuals persecuted during the National Socialist regime, with a focus on the period of nationwide deportations beginning in the fall of 1941. A general analysis of this phenomenon is complemented by an in-depth examination of a specific case: Arthur Nicolaier (1862–1942), the discoverer of the tetanus pathogen, who was persecuted as a Jewish physician and ultimately slated for deportation to Theresienstadt. In August 1942, Nicolaier took his own life to avoid deportation. By adopting this approach, the study bridges statistical reconstruction and individual life stories, illuminating the diverse dimensions of suicide among victims of National Socialist persecution. Persecution suicides in Germany between 1933 and 1945 are presented as a distinct historical phenomenon. The work employs both a chronological division based on predominant threats and an analysis of specific contexts in which suicides occurred. The context examined in detail is defined by the deportations and the role of suicide as an option for escape and defiance. As deportations began, persecuted individuals were left with two means of escaping the totalitarian claims of the Nazi regime over their lives: fleeing underground or fleeing into death. The study addresses contemporary perceptions of this issue as well as its prevalence: How closely were these acts linked to specific deportation dates, and how did individuals prepare for the possibility of escaping through suicide? The analysis of motives and circumstances is based on memoir literature, contemporary documents, letters, and diary entries. For systematic analysis of case numbers, which offer insights into dynamics and other aspects, statistics from the period were evaluated. Special attention is given to Berlin, drawing on local police statistics, burial records from the Weißensee Jewish Cemetery, and records from the Jewish Hospital of Berlin. To provide a deeper understanding of the events, the medical profession is examined in detail. Physicians were uniquely involved in the subject of persecution suicides: offering confidential advice, procuring means in advance, treating failed suicide attempts, or certifying death. Finally, the study addresses the question of how persecution suicides can be situated within the existing research on escape and resistance, with a particular focus on the support networks surrounding Arthur Nicolaier’s final efforts to secure his survival. Results - The frequency of suicides was closely tied to waves of deportation, as shown by reconstructed, sometimes day-specific, dynamics. In 1942, referred to as the “year of hell”, suicides peaked. In August 1942, when Arthur Nicolaier was slated for deportation, 59 LB - PUB:(DE-HGF)11 DO - DOI:10.18154/RWTH-2025-00388 UR - https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/1000477 ER -