Virchow-Medaillenträger und Ehrenmitglieder der DGP und ihr Verhältnis zum Nationalsozialismus

Schmidt, Mathias; Gräf, Christina; Groß, Dominik

doi:10.1007/s00292-020-00764-1

Cited by 8 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 34 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…If one includes membership in the SA and SS, 17 out of the 27 honorary members (63%) had at least formal contacts with the National Socialist state. Recent studies on the German Society for Pathology [ 69 ] and on dental associations [ 70 ] have found almost identical numerical ratios; recently published studies in relation to the German Society for Internal Medicine [ 71 ] and the psychiatric association also contain analogous data [ 72 , 73 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Historical review: the German Neurological Society and its honorary members (1952–1982)

Martin

Fangerau

Karenberg

2022

Neurol. Res. Pract.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background As part of a larger project commissioned by the German Neurological Society (DGN), this paper focuses on the DGN’s German and Austrian honorary members. In particular, the question of whether former membership in the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) or other Nazi organizations was an obstacle to becoming an honorary member in the years 1952–1982, and whether victims of the Nazi regime were also considered for honorary membership. Results From the early 1950s to the early 1980s, the DGN awarded honorary membership to 55 individuals. Of these, 27 were German or Austrian citizens who were physicians during the Nazi era, and 17 of the 27 (63%) were members of the NSDAP, Storm Troopers (SA), or Schutzstaffel (SS). In the early postwar period, honorary membership was much less frequently awarded to former Nazi Party members than in the years around 1980. Sir Ludwig Guttmann, the only neurologist forced to emigrate, received his honorary membership in 1971. Brief biographies of Hans Jacob, Gustav Bodechtel, Karl Kleist, and Ludwig Guttmann outline exemplary careers and life histories, in addition to highlighting key issues such as concurrent research on “euthanasia” victims, denazification procedures, forced emigration, and the contemporary mindset in the Federal Republic of Germany. Conclusions Apparently, a “Nazi past” did not play a decisive role in the selection process for honorary members within the DGN until at least the 1980s. Aside from Guttmann, no other neuroscientist expelled from Germany was honored. With these practices, the Society marginalized its Jewish colleagues for a second time.

show abstract