New perspectives on forced migration in the history of twentieth-century neuroscience

Abstract

This special issue of the Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, comprised of six articles and one commentary, reflects on the multifold dimensions of intellectual migration in the neurosciences and illustrates them by relevant case studies, biographies, and surveys from twentieth-century history of science and medicine perspectives. The special issue as a whole strives to emphasize the impact of forced migration in the neurosciences and psychiatry from an interdisciplinary perspective by, first, describing the general research topic, second, by showing how new models can be applied to the historiography and social studies of twentieth-century neuroscience, and, third, by providing a deeper understanding of the impact of European émigré researchers on emerging allied fields, such as neurogenetics, biological psychiatry, psychosomatics, and public mental health, etc. as resulting from this process at large.

Der Psychotherapeut und Nervenarzt Ernst Jolowicz (1882–1958): Eine internationale Karriere im Schatten von Antisemitismus und Emigration

“…Die zügige Emigration gibt ihm insofern Recht, als dass in der Folge nicht nur eine deutliche Verschärfung der rassistischen Gesetzgebung folgen sollte, beispielswiese durch die Nürnberger Gesetze 1935, sondern die judenfeindlichen Agitationen wenige Jahre später im Holocaust gipfelten. Damit reiht sich seine Biografie in jene ein, die die medizinhistorische Forschung bereits identifiziert hat.Bereits kurz nach Hitlers Machtergreifung setzte eine breite Auswanderungsbewegung jüdischer Akademiker ein, insbesondere auch von gut ausgebildeten Neurologen und Psychiatern ( [43], [44]).…”

Unsettling Realities of Nazism and the Legacy of the German Neurological Society

“…National Socialism was a German phenomenon, but its consequences for patients, emigrés and the international October 2021 community had an international dimension. 7,8 We hope that the historical reflection on the scope of action of these prominent neurologists and the actions they took in the face of a totalitarian regime may serve the purpose of establishing a professional culture of remembrance in international neurology.…”