Archaeology and “Life Unworthy of Life:” The Extermination of People with Mental Disorders or Disabilities in Death Valley in Chojnice, Poland

Abstract

The first months of the Second World War were particularly tragic in the area of the former Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. The Germans exterminated local elites, people with disabilities and disorders, farmers, and workers, as well as a small number of members of the local Jewish community. Relatively little is known about these events because traces of the crimes were covered up—victims’ bodies were hidden in mass graves, records were burned, and in the second half of 1944, the so-called Aktion 1005 took place in Pomerania. The first grave to be discovered archaeologically of people with mental disorders or disabilities, defined in Nazi ideology as “life unworthy of life” (Lebensunwertes Leben), was studied in 2024 in Death Valley in Chojnice. This article demonstrates the fundamental role of archaeology in documenting and examining the traces of mass crimes. It presents archaeology as an important mission with social, cultural, historical, and humanitarian significance.