When the filmmakers first traveled to Germany to present on American Eugenics back in the 90s, they were told about a program ordered on Hitler's private stationary that resulted in the deaths of over 300,000 disabled people.  These were "mercy killings", arranged and executed by doctors in cooperation with the German state from 1939 to 1941.  The murders targeted those that the T4 program deemed "life unworthy of living".  The existence of this program enabled the development of gas chamber technology which was transferred to Nazi Death Camps, catalyzing the Holocaust.

In this 22-year-long film effort that spans multiple generations, our family team of filmmakers and researchers takes on the history, memory, and legacy of Aktion T4. How could Aktion T4, a program that resulted in the deaths of over 300,000 disabled people, remain unnoticed for so long? The T4 memorial in Berlin was built in 2011, making disabled people the last victim group to be recognized in the city centre. How could the majority of its perpetrators be released without repercussion? Many of whom went on to practice the same careers that they practiced in National Socialism?

Memorialization of the murdered operates as a form of cultural atonement. It also runs the risk of functioning as a how-to manual on how to kill many people at the same time. The only alternative to simply exposing the facts of mass killing and the identities of the victims is to re-invest in the value of the lives of the dead. The Nazis sought to erase a certain kind of disability from the species: human. Disposable Humanity reverses this goal by pursuing multi-generational acts of love that will not let go of the dead through the commitments of disabled and disability-identified scholars, activists, and artists today. This film is a form of counter-monument resisting an intended erasure that began long ago.

Director, Family Member / Cameron S. Mitchell
Producer, Family Member / David Mitchell
Researcher, Family Member / Emma Mitchell
Researcher, Family Member / Sharon Snyder