Die Freigabe der Vernichtung Lebensunwerten Lebens (Allowing the Destruction of Life Unworthy of Life) was a two part treatise with contributions by German attorney Karl Binding and German doctor Alfred Hoche. Both men were academics. It was published in 1920. It provided the intellectual grounding for the Nazi T4 program, and through it, the Holocaust. How? The question is worth pondering. Neither Binding or Hoche were National Socialists. They were not radical racists. They were academics exploring an area of medical ethics in light of science and modern progress. They were merely rendering their sober opinion on a delicate matter. Perhaps that is the explanation. --

Karl Binding und Alfred Hoche ursprünglichen Buch argumentiert, dass es akzeptabel ist, zu zerstören "lebensunwerten Lebens." Niemand im Jahr 1920 gedacht, dass es ein Katalysator für den Holocaust geworden.----Karl Binding and Alfred Hoche's original book arguing that it was acceptable to destroy 'life unworthy of life.' No one in 1920 imagined it would become a catalyst for the Holocaust.