Straved to death

Beskrivning

Beween 1941-1943, 200 patients died in a sudden rise of mortality at the Vipeholm asylum in Sweden; an asylum for people deemed to be intellectually disabled, who were then classified as 'untidy uneducable feebleminded'. The media speculated that these deaths were the result of intentional starvation, and referred therefore to them as acts of euthanasia. This, however, has not been proven in research. This is why this project analyses the development of the care that these vulnerable citizens received within asylum care at the historical point when euthanasia may have been an option. The project takes for granted that this asylum can offer us insight into existing governance and practices, and places under scrutiny the medical superintendent of Vipeholm, Hugo Fröderberg who was a key figure during the studied period: 1935-1963.

The project runs over four years and is organised in four interrelated studies: one deals with the part that physicians like Fröderberg played, and particularly his responsibility during the years when mortality rates increased drastically (i.e.1941-1943); another study brings attention to the transformations that took place over time with particular attention to everyday practices among staff and patients at Vipeholm between 1935-1963; a third study analyses the knowledge regime regarding intellectually disabled people and euthanasia in the networks surrounding Vipeholm and Fröderberg and finally, the fourth study focuses on establishing the cause of death for the 200 patients that lost their lives between 1941- 1943.

The project relies on analytical tools that combine a biopolitical perspective on power and a phenomenologically inspired account of everyday life at the hospital in order to map, understand and explain what happened. The outcomes of the project will be disseminated in articles, a book, a web page and open seminars.

För mer information om projektet, se Döden på Vipehilm (lu.se)