The Medical University of Vienna and the legacy of Pernkopf’s anatomical atlas: Elsevier’s donation of the original drawings to the Josephinum

Czech, Herwig; Druml, Christiane; Müller, Markus; Voegler, Max; Beilmann, Andrea; Fowler, Nick

doi:10.1016/j.aanat.2021.151693

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Despite early calls for individual identification and recognition of the victims, the Viennese university commission, citing privacy concerns, did not provide much information on individual victims. 60 Such a shift of focus towards the individual victims only occurred a few years later, when the collection of brain specimens from the victims of the Vienna Spiegelgrund came under scrutiny, and children were individually named and honored both in publications, a commemorative website and an honorary grave at Vienna's Central Cemetery. 61 Although the specimens derived from the Spiegelgrund victims had served as the basis for numerous publications by Heinrich Gross and other authors in the field, no discussion regarding these results emerged, perhaps because they were deemed too insignificant in comparison to Pernkopf's atlas.…”

Section: The Aus Trian C a S E: From The Pernkopf Affair To The S Pieg Elg Rund S Pecimensmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

2021

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In 1945, neuropathologist Julius Hallervorden from the worldrenowned Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Brain Research in Berlin-Buch was interviewed by US intelligence officer Leo Alexander, who was investigating the advances of German neurology during the war. During their conversation, Hallervorden eventually mentioned that he had received the brains of hundreds of victims of the "euthanasia" killings for his research. He would soon come to regret his frankness, although, as the Nuremberg Medical Trial

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Section: The Aus Trian C a S E: From The Pernkopf Affair To The S Pieg Elg Rund S Pecimensmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

2021

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“…The contract of donation with Elsevier stipulates that the Medical University takes responsibility for appropriate archiving and conservation, cataloging and digitization, as well as for providing access to the illustrations for historical and related research, provided an appropriate contextualization of the sensitive subject-matter can be guaranteed. In this context, Elsevier also granted the publishing rights to the Medical University under certain conditions: Elsevier has to approve if more than three illustrations are to be used within the same work, and commercial use in anatomical textbooks and comparable works is excluded (Czech et al 2021). In a previous paper on the donation of the paintings, three of us have expressed our expectation that the medical relevance of the paintings will continue to fade, and that in line with the spirit and letter of the contract of donation, the "primary context in which these illustrations will appear is expected to be the history and ethics of anatomy and related topics" (Czech et al 2021).…”

Section: What Should Be Done With Pernkopf's Anatomical Illustrations?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this context, Elsevier also granted the publishing rights to the Medical University under certain conditions: Elsevier has to approve if more than three illustrations are to be used within the same work, and commercial use in anatomical textbooks and comparable works is excluded (Czech et al 2021). In a previous paper on the donation of the paintings, three of us have expressed our expectation that the medical relevance of the paintings will continue to fade, and that in line with the spirit and letter of the contract of donation, the "primary context in which these illustrations will appear is expected to be the history and ethics of anatomy and related topics" (Czech et al 2021). There was -and is -no intention on the part of the Medical University of Vienna to facilitate or promote the use of these illustrations for teaching anatomy or surgery.…”

Section: What Should Be Done With Pernkopf's Anatomical Illustrations?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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What Should Be Done with Pernkopf’s Anatomical Illustrations? A Commentary from the Medical University of Vienna

Czech¹,

Druml²,

Weninger³

et al. 2021

JBC

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Thanks to a recent donation by Elsevier, the Medical University of Vienna now holds in its collections the known existing original paintings for Eduard Pernkopf's Atlas of Topographic and Applied Human Anatomy. This atlas is widely considered a pinnacle of the art of anatomical illustration. However, it is severely tainted by its historical origins. Pernkopf was a high-ranking National Socialist and co-responsible for the expulsion of hundreds of Jewish scientists and students from the university. Also, the Vienna Institute of Anatomy, which Pernkopf headed, received during the war the bodies of at least 1377 people executed by the regime, many for their political views or acts of resistance, including at least seven Jewish victims. Although it is impossible to individually identify the people used for the atlas, it is to be assumed that a considerable number of the paintings produced during and after the war are based on the bodies of these victims. Against this background, and out of respect for the victims, use of Pernkopf's atlas in medical teaching and training should be — wherever possible without compromising medical outcomes — reduced to a minimum. Given the strong variability of human anatomy, even the most detailed anatomical illustrations cannot replace teaching and training in the dissection room. As the experience at the Medical University of Vienna and elsewhere demonstrates, Pernkopf's atlas is far from irreplaceable. In keeping with the stipulations of the contract of donation, the Medical University of Vienna considers the Pernkopf originals primarily as historical artifacts, which will support the investigation and teaching of this dark chapter of the history of medicine in Austria, out of responsibility towards the victims. Table of Contents image credit: Medical University of Vienna, MUW-AD-003250-5-ABB-352

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“…As outlined in Dr. Seidelman's 2012 Annals of Anatomy article, this uncertainty is accentuated by the lack of veracity in the responses from university faculty, who had been asked to respond to questions raised by Yad Vashem (The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority) (Seidelman, personal communication, 2021). While the publishing of the Pernkopf atlas ceased in 1994, existing editions of the atlas still remains in use and are available through online retailers (Czech, et al 2021).…”

Section: Historical Background Of the Atlasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Editor's Comments

Schnitz¹

2021

JBC

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Welcome to the Journal of Biocommunication’s Special Issue 45-1. We have designated this publication as a JBC “Special Issue,” as it is devoted entirely to one topic. Our current Special Issue includes articles and commentaries all related to Eduard Pernkopf’s, Atlas of Topographical and Applied Human Anatomy. Our authors have provided in-depth discussions about the Pernkopf’s atlas’ dark history, the uncertain origin of cadavers used as references for the atlas, and medical crimes of the Third Reich. Seven of the articles are authored by some of the world’s leading historians and authorities on the subject of the Pernkopf atlas and the abuses of Nazi medicine. These authors presented papers at a Holocaust Education Week Symposium that was held on Nov. 10, 2019, at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. This landmark Symposium was called, “The Vienna Protocol: Medicine’s Confrontation with Continuing Legacies of its Nazi Past.” The Symposium faculty included Susan Mackinnon, MD, Rabbi Joseph Polak, William E. Seidelman, MD, Sabine Hildebrandt, MD, Philip Berger, MD, Anne Agur, PhD, and Leila Lax, PhD, who also served as the Symposium coordinator and host. Table of Contents image credit: Medical University of Vienna, MUW-AD-003250-5-ABB-81.

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The Medical University of Vienna and the legacy of Pernkopf’s anatomical atlas: Elsevier’s donation of the original drawings to the Josephinum

Cited by 14 publications

References 20 publications

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

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

What Should Be Done with Pernkopf’s Anatomical Illustrations? A Commentary from the Medical University of Vienna

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