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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Ernst Ferdinand Sauerbruch and his ambiguous role in the period of National Socialism.

The role of German physicians under National Socialism is highly controversial. We show that Ferdinand Sauerbruch, one of twentieth century's most outstanding surgeons and chair of surgery at Berlin's Charité from 1927 to 1949, openly supported National Socialism in his public statements and in his position as head of the medical section of the Reich Research Council. He was appointed state councilor and received the Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross by the National Socialists. But Sauerbruch also supported victims of Nazi persecution, attempted to use his influence to put a stop to the "Euthanasia Program T4," and in private expressed his criticism of National Socialists. The ambiguous stance of Ferdinand Sauerbruch is probably more typical of the role physicians played during National Socialism than the well-known black-and-white cases.

General Surgery↗

[Orthopedics and patients under national socialism dictatorship].

The 12-year dictatorship of National Socialism represents a decisive event in the history of orthopedics in Germany. Treatment and care was limited to those patients whose prognosis promised their reintegration into the work force. Those orthopedic patients with mental and psychological handicaps no longer came under the care of orthopedists and were potential candidates for annihilation. Despite concerted efforts to the contrary, as can be gleaned from the lists of topics at the annual meetings, the prevailing political circumstances encumbered scientific activities. The almost total isolation from international contacts had a negative effect. Orthopedists were hindered in their work by the law on sterilization, which provided for sterilization in cases of severe physical deformity. Some orthopedists even considered the presence of hip dysplasia to be an indication. The roles played by Georg Hohmann, Hellmut Eckhardt, Lothar Kreuz, and other leading orthopedists are described in detail. It can be regarded as certain that Hohmann and Eckhardt were able to prevent dire consequences for their orthopedic patients and the profession by cautious tactics. The ethnical problems of involvement with National Socialism are thoroughly discussed.

Persons with Disabilities↗

[Psychiatry in the era of national socialism].

The question of the responsibility of medical science during National Socialism has proved a controversial subject. Psychiatry especially has been charged with complicity in the killing of psychiatric patients. Psychiatry as a scientific system, however, is not identical with the racial psychiatry of National Socialism. Ernst Rüdin was the most prominent representative of Nazi psychiatry. But even in the time of National Socialism there were important scientists who attempted to preserve the traditions of psychiatry. Among them were Kurt Schneider and Karl Bonhoeffer. By examining new sources the present essay attempts to demonstrate, with special reference to persons and institutions (Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Psychiatrie), the actual situation of psychiatry during the Third Reich. Only specific areas of psychiatry may be found guilty of misdeeds, but psychiatry as a whole bears an historical responsibility for the terrible events in Nazi Germany.

Academies and Institutes↗

The end of the Strecknitz asylum at Lübeck - a contribution to the social history of psychiatry during National Socialism.

At a first place the NS-policy of psychiatry is outlined -its global planning as well as its excecution. The picture is supplemented by and contrasted with its local implementation exemplified by the Strecknitz asylum at Lübeck. It becomes clear how much the global concept of the extermination of patients was interwoven with pragmatic plans of local authorities. At Lübeck only the partial identity of these interests led to the deportation of more than 600 patients. They were distributed to several transit camps in Hesse where more than 80% had died by the end of the Second World War. The main causes of death were hunger and infectious diseases - consequences of a deliberate and well-organized neglect. The behaviour and the reactions on the part of the relatives were shaped by supply shortages during the war, by internalized propaganda and by fear. The long-term effects beyond the end of the NS-regime vary a lot. Some of the relatives' coping strategies are portrayed. In some cases the murder of close family members continues to have its effects in the form of family secrets.

Concentration Camps↗

[The scientific development in dermatology in Germany in relation to the emigration of Jewish dermatologists during national socialism].

The anti-semitic laws let to the persecution of the Jews in Germany during the time of National Socialism. About 600 Jewish dermatologists had to suffer from the prohibition of their profession. 63% of them left Germany. The emigrants mainly preferred to move out to the U.S. The policy of coordination and elimination of the National Socialists led to the reappointment of dermatological chairs in universities. The National Socialists also forced the change in the boards of dermatological societies and the change of the editorial boards of dermatological journals. All papers of the three leading dermatological journals were analysed for the evaluation of the development of science. The assessment included the number of articles, the origin of the authors and the contents of articles (research, clinics, diagnostic, therapy). From 1933 to 1945 the number of papers per year decreased consequently, especially during the Second World War. During the whole time the number of German authors increased and the number of abroad living authors decreased. There was a very good and interesting international exchange of information in the journal "Archiv für Dermatologie und Syphilis". The activity reduced clearly after the beginning of the Second World War in 1939. The analysis of contents resulted in a reduction of basis science research and an orientation to the clinical research. Papers about therapeutical possibilities were always published. The emigration of Jewish dermatologists led to a continuous reduction of scientific activities and to an extensive international isolation.

Dermatology↗

["Euthanasia of children" during dictatorship of national socialism: "special children's department" Ansbach in Germany].

Focus of this paper is a description of "child euthanasia" during National Socialism 1939-1945 in the "specialized children's department" of the Ansbach state hospital. The historical and ideological bases for euthanasia and the development of child and adolescent psychiatry are explained. Material was found in public archives and trial records of German courts. 156 case histories of children who were killed in the Ansbach state hospital were evaluated. Child euthanasia in Ansbach was done in the same stereotyped way as in other specialized children's departments. The 156 children were aged between one week and 16 years. 39 children died within the first three months, 31 children died within three to six months in hospital. Most children were autopsied, at least 86 brains were examined neuropathologically. The trials against the involved physicians were quashed finally in 1968.

Adolescent↗

[The German Ophthalmological Society (DOG) during the Period of National Socialism].

Sixty-one years after the end of the Hitler dictatorship, the history of the German Ophthalmological Society (DOG) has still hardly been investigated. According to different sources, especially the reports of the DOG congresses 1934, 1936, 1938, and 1940, the following picture can be drawn: 1. The seizure of power ("Machtergreifung") of Adolf Hitler was appreciated by most of the DOG members. 2. After a change of the constitution the DOG came under the control of the "Reichsinnenministerium". However, it escaped the egalitarianism ("Gleichschaltung") and remained relatively independent. 3. Approximately 40 % of the heads of the German university eye clinics who were the most influential DOG representatives were members of the national socialistic German working party (NSDAP). Almost all of these joined the party in 1933 or later. 4. Up to the last congress in Dresden, 1940, the DOG activities were quite extensive. After that time the activities strongly declined. 5. The "Law for the prevention of genetically disabled offspring" ("Gesetz zur Verhütung erbkranken Nachwuchses") from January 1st 1934 was intensely discussed by the DOG. Some prominent ophthalmologists and DOG members were at least in part responsible for the sterilisations because of "congenital blindness". However, as far as it is known, the DOG itself did not intervene directly concerning the practice of sterilisation. 6. Between 1932 and 1940, the DOG lost approximately 12 % of its members. Many of these stemmed from foreign countries, and many were German Jews. The latter left the DOG, as Walther Löhlein stated after the end of the war, "voluntarily". However, a main reason for leaving the DOG was very likely the feeling of being unwanted. The national socialism had several disastrous effects on ophthalmology. Although single DOG members participated in the excesses, the DOG as an organization was not directly involved. However, taking into consideration that more than 10 % of the members of the pre-Hitler era left their scientific society it is a matter of interpretation whether the DOG remained completely innocent between 1933 and 1945.

Eugenics↗

National psychology, national socialism, and analytical psychology: reflections on Jung and anti-semitism. Part II.

The paper is a critical study of the intellectual relations of analytical psychology and national socialism. I try to show that it was Jung's attempt to establish a psychology of nations that brought him into the same frame as Nazi anti-semitic ideology. In addition, Jung was absorbed by the question of leadership, also a pressing issue during the 1930s. Exploring these ideas as thoroughly as possible leads to a kind of reparation, for I think that post-Jungians do have reparation to make. Then it is possible to revalue Jung's overall project in more positive terms. By coupling a less simplistic methodology and a more sensitive set of values to Jung's basic intuitions about the importance of a psychology of cultural difference, analytical psychology has something to offer a depth psychology that is concerned with processes of political and social transformation.

Germany↗

[Social psychiatric traditions between the empire period and national socialism].

From the time psychiatry had become a scientific discipline in its own right, sociopsychiatric efforts have been directed towards erecting a second outpatient care pillar in the psychiatric patient care setup to make up for the drawbacks of oversize psychiatric hospitals that were the problematic heritage of erstwhile Prussia. During the period of the German Empire under Kaiser William II these efforts were not honored by the state. This started, with serious consequences, a vicious circle of institutionalising mentally deranged patients, a procedure that seemed to inflate the incidence of these diseases to the dimensions of a menace and hence created a fertile soil for the axioms of "reacial hygiene" to take root. The Bavarian psychiatrist Gustav Kolb (1870-1938), who realised how much of this development was really "home made", demanded in 1908--pursuing and expanding the ideas of that paradigmatic scientist and first sociopsychiatrist, Wilhelm Griesinger (1817-1868)--once again to recognise psychiatric care by setting up a second outpatient pillar in the form of an "Open Public Welfare Service" attached to a relevant psychiatric hospital. However, the full significance of his reformatory proposals was not realised at that time. When finally open public welfare was translated into reality during 1918-1933 as a result of the zealous efforts on the part of the reformatory psychiatrists, this was mainly done to save cost, whereas Kolb's original aims were largely lost in the process.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders↗

German psychological journals under National Socialism: a history of contrasting paths.

Five major German psychological journals are examined to determine the changes they manifested upon the advent of National Socialism, and the manner in which they responded to the challenges posed by the new regime's ideology and policies. Two of the journals remained largely unchanged in their content, scientific orientation, and overall tone, revealing predominantly minor forms of accommodation. Two other journals showed a pronounced change in their content, publishing a considerable amount of material of an ideological, racist, or propagandistic nature during the decade starting in 1933. The fifth journal proved an exceptional case. These differences appear to reflect the orientation and values of the editors of the respective journals. Where the editors provided the requisite leadership, scientific publication was maintained essentially free from political interference even under the difficult conditions presented by the fascist state. The article concludes with an examination of the response by postwar German psychology to this period of its history, revealing a disinclination to confront the subject, which was so until very recently. Possible bases for this response are also considered.

Germany↗

The history of forensic medicine in times of the Weimar republic and national socialism--an approach.

German Forensic Medicine established the tasks and aims of forensic medicine during the period of the "Weimar Republic" (1919-1933). Since 1925, forensic medicine is part of the medical examination regulation. In times of the 3rd Reich (1933-1945), most of forensic pathologists were influenced by and involved in National Socialism. The special subject of forensic medicine was endangered by the absence of political neutral forensic pathologists.

Forensic Medicine↗

[Richard Koch's life in national socialism and in Soviet emigration].

The Jewish historian and theorist of medicine, Richard Koch, teaching in Frankfurt/Main, fled in 1936 from National Socialist Germany to the USSR where he lived in the Caucasian spa Essentuki until his death in 1949. Here he worked as a doctor and continued his scientific work, especially on the foundations of medicine in natural philosophy. None of his works of this time were published. Koch was a scientific outsider in the USSR, and he was aware of this. However, he tried to make his views compatible with official doctrines. In 1947 he lost his employment at the medical clinic of Essentuki, and his material situation grew worse. It is still an open question whether this development was related to an increasingly anti-Jewish atmosphere in the USSR that was linked with the Stalinist "purges", as Koch himself appeared to believe. Before his flight from Germany Koch did not show any tendency towards communism or the political left at all. His attitude towards Soviet society and Stalin was mixed: cautious criticism was accompanied by strong expressions of commitment to Stalin and Koch's new Socialist home. The question to what extent Koch's comments showed his true convictions must remain without a definite answer. At least in part they can be understood as precautions in threatening circumstances. The opportunity of a remigration to Germany after 1945, however, was turned down by Koch.

Ethics, Medical↗