[Effects of "unification" on Austrian nursing]

During the time of the National Socialism nurses in Austria were also responsible for crimes against humanity. Particularly personnel from nursing homes participated in euthanasia; personnel that mostly had only been trained in courses offered by the institution itself. The following article shows that the new regimentation for education in nursing, the nursing profession and its organisation aimed at creating the necessary conditions and structures to support the influence the NS-body of thought, to guarantee the exertion of influence of their ideology and--last but not least--to enable the political parties and the government to control nursing and the nursing staff. This article is part of a long years' project of the Institute of Nursing and Health Care Research at the University Linz, Dept. Nursing Research to investigate the role of nursing in Austria in the 19th and 20th century.