Werner Heyde

There he was responsible for establishing a system of psychiatric and eugenic examinations and research in concentration camps, and for the organisation and the patient selection process of the Aktion T-4 Euthanasia Program.

In 1938, he was appointed chief of staff of the medical department in the SS-Hauptamt (headquarters); in 1939, he became professor for psychiatry and neurology at the University of Würzburg, and from 1940 on he also was director of the psychiatric hospital.

He was replaced as head of the T4 program by Paul Nitsche in 1941, but continued his involvement as member of the "department Brack"[clarification needed] (after the end of World War II, it was never found out what his role there was).

Many friends and associates knew about his real identity, but remained silent even as he was an expert witness in court cases.

His true identity was revealed in the course of a private quarrel, and on 11 November 1959 Heyde surrendered to police in Frankfurt after 13 years as a fugitive.