From scientific exploitation to individual memorialization: Evolving attitudes towards research on Nazi victims’ bodies

Czech, Herwig; Weindling, Paul; Druml, Christiane

doi:10.1111/bioe.12860

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Atrocities committed on human lives during the National Socialist Regime/Third Reich in Germany (Figure 6 ) constituted a dark chapter in human history (Czech, Druml, et al, 2021 ; Czech, Weindling, & Druml, 2021 ). The practice of medicine and related research activities during this period, often unceremoniously referred to as “Nazi medicine”, involved malicious experiments with a blatant disregard for human rights (Hofer et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: The Gross Disregard Of Informed Consent During the Third Rei...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar disclosures were made regarding the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Vienna (Czech & Brenner, 2019 ). A suspicion was raised in 1994 about the presence of Nazi insignia in the signatures of the illustrators Erich Lepier and Karl Endtresser in the renowned anatomical work “Pernkopf Atlas of Anatomy” (Czech, Druml, et al, 2021 ; Czech, Weindling, & Druml, 2021 ). The atlas emanated from the institute, and a substantial part of the work was carried out during the Third Reich.…”

Section: The Gross Disregard Of Informed Consent During the Third Rei...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following the publication of an investigation report in 1998, which documented the presence of human tissues of Holocaust victims in these institutes, all such specimens were identified, removed, and buried respectfully. The entire process of isolating these specimens and their burial was completed by March 2002 (Czech, Druml, et al, 2021 ; Czech, Weindling, & Druml, 2021 ; Seidelman, 2012 ).…”

Section: The Gross Disregard Of Informed Consent During the Third Rei...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Sun Also Rises: Tracing the evolution of humanistic values in anatomy pedagogy and research, including cadaveric acquisition practices

Bhattacharjee

Ghosh

2023

Journal of Anatomy

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Anatomy has always been at the intersection of the socio‐cultural and political landscape, where new ideas constantly replace older wisdom. From ancient Egyptians through the Greeks, and then the Romans, finally culminating into the European Renaissance—all the significant eras of human civilisation have left their insignia and distinct marks on the evolution of anatomical practices. Despite its utility as a tool for anatomy pedagogy and research that has proven its worth over millennia, cadaveric dissection has particularly been subject to political and social vicissitudes. A major debate about anatomical dissection lay with the ethical considerations, or its lack thereof, while acquiring corpses for demonstration in the dissection halls. From antiquity, anatomical dissection—often synonymous with medical studies—had typically been carried out on the dead bodies of executed criminals with certain laws, such as the Murder Act of 1752, facilitating such uses. Gradually, the uses of unclaimed bodies, resourced primarily from the impoverished sections of society, were also introduced. However, these body acquisition protocols often missed the crucial element of humanism and ethical considerations, while knowledge augmentation was taken as sufficient reasoning. Unfortunately, a gross disregard towards humanistic values promulgated heinous and illegal practices in acquiring corpses, including grave robbery and even murders like in the case of Burke and Hare murders of 1828. Follow‐up legislation, such as the Anatomy Act of 1832, and comparable laws in other European nations were passed to curb the vile. What distils from such a historical discourse on humane values in anatomy dissection, or medical science in general, is that the growth and integration of humanism in anatomy have never been linear, but there were intermittent and, yet, significant disruptions in its timeline. For example, there were serious human rights violations in anatomical practices during the Third Reich in Germany that perpetrated the holocaust. The medical community has kept evolving and introducing new moral values and principles while using such egregious events as lessons, ultimately resulting in the Declaration of Helsinki in 1964. This article revisits the heterogeneous journey of integrating humanistic values in anatomy practice. Such humanistic traits that, like medical science, have also developed over centuries through the inputs of physicians, researchers, and philosophers—from Greece to modernity with an important stopgap at the Renaissance—are a fascinating lore that deserves to be re‐envisioned through the lens of contemporary values and ethos. In parallel to human medicine, humanistic values continue to influence veterinary medicine, a welcome development, as our society condemns animal cruelty in any form. There are lessons to be learned from this historical journey of how humanism shaped many of the concepts that anatomists use now. Finally, and most importantly, it might prevent the medical community from repeating the same mistakes by cautioning against the traps that are there, and in a convoluted world where morality as such is eroding from our social fabric, will always be there. Such historical account acts as a righteous, ethical, and contextual compass to guide the existing and upcoming anatomists in discerning between light and dark, right and wrong, and roads—to be or not to be—taken.

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Section: The Gross Disregard Of Informed Consent During the Third Rei...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Gross Disregard Of Informed Consent During the Third Rei...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Gross Disregard Of Informed Consent During the Third Rei...mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Sun Also Rises: Tracing the evolution of humanistic values in anatomy pedagogy and research, including cadaveric acquisition practices

Bhattacharjee

Ghosh

2023

Journal of Anatomy

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“…The arguments for and against the use of "information" or "data" gathered from unethical research have been discussed elsewhere. [2][3][4] The speaker at the conference I attended was not using the information collected by Nazi scientists to study hypothermia for the betterment of humanity nor to introduce a topic and discussion at the intersection of wilderness medicine and bioethics; rather, the speaker seemed to be presenting the findings as part of a scientific review of the subject. This seems like an odd choice.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of Unethical Research in Wilderness Medicine Education

Hyde

2022

Wilderness & Environmental Medicine

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Why collect data on “Races/Ethnicity” in cancer clinical trials? A letter from a french investigator

Penel¹

2023

Bulletin du Cancer

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From scientific exploitation to individual memorialization: Evolving attitudes towards research on Nazi victims’ bodies

Cited by 4 publications

References 9 publications

The Sun Also Rises: Tracing the evolution of humanistic values in anatomy pedagogy and research, including cadaveric acquisition practices

The Sun Also Rises: Tracing the evolution of humanistic values in anatomy pedagogy and research, including cadaveric acquisition practices

The Use of Unethical Research in Wilderness Medicine Education

Why collect data on “Races/Ethnicity” in cancer clinical trials? A letter from a french investigator

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