Visitors 457
Created 6-Jun-09
19 photos
St. Jozefsheim
In 1909 the brothers of the Franciscan Order "vom Heiligen Kreuz" came to Nordrhein Westfalen and builded the St. Jozefsheim. The site with church, offices, school and two other buildings were ready in 1913. About 600 mentally and physically disabled people were living in the monastery. But after a stop of financial help from the government the order had to leave the buildings. The last brother left the monastery in 23 May 1937.
In 1939 a new law stated that every disabled new born should be reported to the government. The disabled; Childs and also older kids were taken in institutes. The government, the national socialists were heading to the WWII to create the third Reich. The race purification program killed more than 200.000 people and also in St. Jozefsheim people were killed. The “Schutzengelhaus" from the Franciscans was rebuilt to this kind of “death” institute. The institute gave place to 200 beds. More than 30 children were killed during these years in this institute. In July 1943 the institute leaves St Jozefsheim and the remaining 183 children were transported to other institutes.
In 1952 the buildings were expropriate from the Nazis and was sold back to the Franciscan order. But only several years later, in 1955 it was sold again, now to the English who used the buildings for almost 40 years.
The English connected two older building with some new ones and a military hospital was born. The monastery became a modern hospital with two operation rooms, out patient departments and even a psychiatric department.
From 10 September 1963 the site is used again as a school. The English build new parts for a gym and a canteen. In the Kent School 1400 kids were teached. 270 kids stayed there on the boarding school. The other pupils were transported to the school by bus; everyday 50 busses drove to the Kent School. Even a special bus station was added to the site.
In 1992 the school closed and the buildings were for sale again. They even came on E-bay, an online marketplace. The last few years there been some emergency restorations in the building to keep them from falling apart. There are no future plans for this beautiful site.
