From land owner to Holocaust perpetrator to post war child abuse. The obscene case of Werner Scheu.
History on YouTube
1,802 views
Theodor Hugo Werner Scheu (1910–1989) was a medical doctor whose biography spans the annexation of the Memel territory, the systematic killing operations in Lithuania, and the post-war administration of a children’s health facility. This analysis traces the documented evidence of his wartime actions and the subsequent legal challenges within the West German judicial system.
Biographical and Military Background:
Early Life: Born into a prominent family in East Prussia, Scheu completed his medical doctorate in 1934 before managing his family’s estate.
Paramilitary Activity: In 1939, he organised a mounted unit for the Memelland Order Service, which was later incorporated into the SS as part of SS-Reiterstandarte 20 (SS Heydekrug).
Administrative Power: By 1940, Scheu held fourteen public offices simultaneously, including leadership of the district farmers’ association and a role in establishing a Jewish forced labour camp in Heydekrug.
Wartime Operations in Lithuania (1941):
Following the invasion of the Soviet Union, Scheu led the "Jewish Procurement Action" in several Lithuanian towns, including Švėkšna and Žemaičių Naumiestis.
The Executions: Evidence presented in court established that Scheu personally participated in the killing of approximately 400 individuals.
Witness Testimony: Survivors and witnesses described Scheu firing at victims at the edge of execution pits and personally transporting prisoners deemed "unfit for work" to be shot at the border.
Post-War Career and the "Mövennest" Home:
After his release from American internment in 1946, Scheu resumed his medical career. In 1948, he moved to the island of Borkum and established the Mövennest children’s sanatorium.
Institutional Abuse: Investigative reporting in 2020 brought to light systematic mistreatment and abuse of children under Scheu’s supervision at the Borkum facility during the 1950s and 60s.
The Aurich Trials: Scheu was arrested in 1960. His legal proceedings became a point of contention when local jurors twice refused to convict him as a principal murderer, despite his personal involvement in killings.
Judicial Outcome:
The Federal Court of Justice eventually intervened in 1965, overturning the lenient sentences of the lower courts and imposing life imprisonment. Scheu was released on parole in 1972 after serving twelve years. His later life was spent in relative obscurity until his death in 1989.
Werner Scheu, SS-Untersturmführer, SS Heydekrug, Holocaust in Lithuania, Memelland history, Nazi doctors, Borkum children's home, Mövennest sanatorium, Švėkšna massacre, Žemaičių Naumiestis, West German war crimes trials, Aurich jury court, medical ethics in the Third Reich, 1941 execution operations.
Who was Werner Scheu, history of SS Heydekrug, mass murder in Lithuania 1941, suggested biography of Theodor Hugo Werner Scheu, abuse at the Mövennest home Borkum, Nazi trials in West Germany 1964.
0:00 The Dual Life of Theodor Hugo Werner Scheu
1:15 Family Background and the Heydekrug Estate
2:40 Rise of the "SS Heydekrug" Paramilitary Unit
4:10 1941: The "Jewish Procurement Action" in Lithuania
6:30 Personal Participation in Mass Executions
8:15 Capture and Return to Medical Practice (1945–1948)
10:20 The "Mövennest" Children’s Home on Borkum
12:45 The Aurich Trials and Judicial Controversy
15:10 Life Imprisonment and the 1972 Parole
17:30 2020 Investigations: The Legacy of Abuse
Further information :
Article by Annika Khein on the Hugo Scheu museum :
https://www.baltic-manors.eu/de/artic...
SWR doc on medical use of children : Das Leid der Verschickungskinder - Was ges...
ARD investigation :
https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/rep...
Ein Mörder aus der Mitte der guten Gesellschaft :
https://www.lto.de/recht/feuilleton/f...
#WernerScheu #WWII #HolocaustHistory #Borkum #Holocaust
11 Comments
Fascinating of course, this account of one mans descent.
Regards 👍👏
From land owner to Holocaust perpetrator to post war child abuse. The obscene case of Werner Scheu.
History on YouTube
1,802 views
Theodor Hugo Werner Scheu (1910–1989) was a medical doctor whose biography spans the annexation of the Memel territory, the systematic killing operations in Lithuania, and the post-war administration of a children’s health facility. This analysis traces the documented evidence of his wartime actions and the subsequent legal challenges within the West German judicial system.
Biographical and Military Background:
Early Life: Born into a prominent family in East Prussia, Scheu completed his medical doctorate in 1934 before managing his family’s estate.
Paramilitary Activity: In 1939, he organised a mounted unit for the Memelland Order Service, which was later incorporated into the SS as part of SS-Reiterstandarte 20 (SS Heydekrug).
Administrative Power: By 1940, Scheu held fourteen public offices simultaneously, including leadership of the district farmers’ association and a role in establishing a Jewish forced labour camp in Heydekrug.
Wartime Operations in Lithuania (1941):
Following the invasion of the Soviet Union, Scheu led the "Jewish Procurement Action" in several Lithuanian towns, including Švėkšna and Žemaičių Naumiestis.
The Executions: Evidence presented in court established that Scheu personally participated in the killing of approximately 400 individuals.
Witness Testimony: Survivors and witnesses described Scheu firing at victims at the edge of execution pits and personally transporting prisoners deemed "unfit for work" to be shot at the border.
Post-War Career and the "Mövennest" Home:
After his release from American internment in 1946, Scheu resumed his medical career. In 1948, he moved to the island of Borkum and established the Mövennest children’s sanatorium.
Institutional Abuse: Investigative reporting in 2020 brought to light systematic mistreatment and abuse of children under Scheu’s supervision at the Borkum facility during the 1950s and 60s.
The Aurich Trials: Scheu was arrested in 1960. His legal proceedings became a point of contention when local jurors twice refused to convict him as a principal murderer, despite his personal involvement in killings.
Judicial Outcome:
The Federal Court of Justice eventually intervened in 1965, overturning the lenient sentences of the lower courts and imposing life imprisonment. Scheu was released on parole in 1972 after serving twelve years. His later life was spent in relative obscurity until his death in 1989.
Werner Scheu, SS-Untersturmführer, SS Heydekrug, Holocaust in Lithuania, Memelland history, Nazi doctors, Borkum children's home, Mövennest sanatorium, Švėkšna massacre, Žemaičių Naumiestis, West German war crimes trials, Aurich jury court, medical ethics in the Third Reich, 1941 execution operations.
Who was Werner Scheu, history of SS Heydekrug, mass murder in Lithuania 1941, suggested biography of Theodor Hugo Werner Scheu, abuse at the Mövennest home Borkum, Nazi trials in West Germany 1964.
0:00 The Dual Life of Theodor Hugo Werner Scheu
1:15 Family Background and the Heydekrug Estate
2:40 Rise of the "SS Heydekrug" Paramilitary Unit
4:10 1941: The "Jewish Procurement Action" in Lithuania
6:30 Personal Participation in Mass Executions
8:15 Capture and Return to Medical Practice (1945–1948)
10:20 The "Mövennest" Children’s Home on Borkum
12:45 The Aurich Trials and Judicial Controversy
15:10 Life Imprisonment and the 1972 Parole
17:30 2020 Investigations: The Legacy of Abuse
Further information :
Article by Annika Khein on the Hugo Scheu museum :
https://www.baltic-manors.eu/de/artic...
SWR doc on medical use of children : Das Leid der Verschickungskinder - Was ges...
ARD investigation :
https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/rep...
Ein Mörder aus der Mitte der guten Gesellschaft :
https://www.lto.de/recht/feuilleton/f...
#WernerScheu #WWII #HolocaustHistory #Borkum #Holocaust