The Babelsberg Sanatorium — now incorporated into Potsdam — was built in 1907 by the psychiatrist Richard Sinn and forms the backdrop to an important episode in Angela Patz-Patermann’s life. Originally intended to accommodate a small number of well-to-do patients, the institution underwent a profound transformation from 1933 onwards, when it was compelled to admit prisoners and opponents of the Nazi regime, among them the painter Karl Hofer in 1943 and Édouard Herriot in 1944.
It was during this troubled period that Angela Patz-Patermann was also interned there. She drew her daily surroundings — the buildings and gardens — sometimes adding the names of doctors and fellow patients. Today, her drawings constitute a rare testimony to life within the institution.
In 1946, the sanatorium was requisitioned by the Soviet regime, and the patients were transferred to a nearby facility.