Anatomy in the Third Reich: victims and perpetrators
Anatomy in the Third Reich: victims and perpetrators
Academic Year:
2011 - 2012 (June 1, 2011 through May 31, 2012)
Funding Requested:
$1,940.00
Project Dates:
-
Applicant(s):
Overview of the Project:
Application for Lecturers' Professional Development Grant: Travel grant for work on "Anatomy in the Third Reich: victims and perpetrators"Applicant: Sabine Hildebrandt MD; Division of Anatomical Sciences Dep. of Medical Education; University of Michigan Medical School1. Description of the professional development activityShort description of planned activity: Since 2008 I have been teaching seminars for medical students on the history and ethics of anatomy and have found the students to be very responsive to this topic. My hypothesis is that we can draw conclusions for ethical behavior in modern anatomy from the study of the history of anatomy. To this end I have explored several aspects of the history of anatomy, with an emphasis on anatomy in the Third Reich (Hildebrandt 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011). Research on this aspect of medicine in the Third Reich has become increasingly active in recent years, but much more work still needs to be done. While my studies first focused on a preliminary overview of the existing literature (Hildebrandt 2009a,b,c), I have recently had the opportunity to start work at the Federal Archives as well as at the State-Library in Berlin, Germany. There I discovered the existence of historical documents pertaining to victims and perpetrators in the field of anatomy that have not yet been thoroughly explored. My intent is to return to Berlin and study these documents and other archival material.Anatomy in the Third Reich: Sixty years after the end of the Third Reich, the National Socialist (NS) regime in Germany, a comprehensive history of anatomy during this time period is still unwritten (Aumüller and Grundmann, 2002). Several studies on the topic have documented the involvement of anatomists in policies that are questionable from a modern ethical point of view, such as the use of the bodies of NS victims for anatomical dissection. A closer analysis of the anatomy in the Third Reich may help anatomists develop ethical guidelines for modern anatomy (Winkelmann and Schagen, 2009). The bioethicist Arthur Caplan (Caplan, 1994) recommends a very careful look at the details of this history as a foundation for analogies between the practices of then and now; an analysis which may lead to "instructive application" (Cahill, 1994) in modern anatomy, a discipline now considered a vehicle for teaching medical ethics (Dyer and Thorndike, 2000; Goddard, 2003). Over the last three decades, studies of individual anatomists and anatomical institutions have been published in increasing numbers. Many German universities have evaluated their NS past, one of the earliest ones being the analysis of the University of Tübingen by Adam in 1977. These evaluations often include analyses of their medical departments (Bonn: Forsbach, 2006; Giessen: Oehler-Klein, 2007; Göttingen: Beushausen et al., 1998; Hamburg: Rothmaler, 1990; Heidelberg: Eckart et al., 2006; Jena: Zimmermann, 2000; Hossfeld et al. 2003, Redies et al., 2005; Marburg: Aumüller et al., 2001; Aumüller and Grundmann, 2002; Tübingen: Mörike, 1988; Schönhagen, 1992; Drews, 1992; Vienna: Malina and Spann, 1999). These studies revealed insights into the politics of faculty and institutions, relevant laws, the interaction between government and universities and the sources of bodies for dissection (which frequently were victims of National-Socialist policies). There is also information about the involvement of related sciences such as anthropology and racial hygiene (eugenics). Still lacking are more in-depth studies of perpetrators and victims. These victims include not only those NS victims who were dissected in anatomical departments, but also the anatomists, whose careers were disrupted by NS-policies. A first analysis of the breadth of the subject matter can by no means show a complete picture of anatomy in the Third Reich, but it serves as a foundation for further work. The aim of a closer examination of this history is not to denounce, but to elucidate the facts in order to learn from history, to realize our own potential fallibility and to find guidelines for the future (Mitscherlich and Mielke, 1947; Kater, 1987, p56). "We may not be able to judge [the NS anatomists], but we can and must set desirable standards of consciousness and behavior and aspire to live up to them" (Cohen and Werner, 2009). [all literature references can be found in Hildebrandt 2009, a,b,c]2. Discussion of how receipt of a Lecturers' Professional Development grant will further the lecturer's scholarship and teachingI believe that ongoing serious scholarship is essential for a university teacher to be effective (Hildebrandt, 2010). My students have responded very positively to the results of my scholarly work on the history of anatomy in the Third Reich. A new path in this work has led me this year to archives in Germany, particularly the Berlin archives. I expect to gain new insights into the history of victims and perpetrators in the field of anatomy from 1933 to 1945 by studying contemporary documents at the federal archives and e.g. information held at the "Gedenkstätte Plötzensee", the memorial center for the victims of executions at the Plötzensee prison. I intend to integrate the new information gained in my ongoing seminars for second year medical students as well as in presentations for a wider audience within the framework of our Anatomical Research Seminar Series.3. Itemized budget:This grant application asks for travel expenses only ("travel required to access resources of other institutions")Typical roundtrip airfare from Detroit to Frankfurt/Germany in May or June with Delta is $ 1312 in May to $ 1772 in June. Typical train roundtrip from Frankfurt to Berlin: 116 Euros (1 Euro ~ $1.45)Total: $ 1,940.204. Curriculum vitae Sabine Hildebrandt MD1977-1984: Medical training in Marburg, Germany and London, UK1984: Licensed as Physician (Germany)1985: Passed the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination in the Medical Sciences (FMGEMS) 1985-1990: Postdoctoral work, Marburg, Germany, and Connecticut, US1997-2002: Lecturer in Medical Sciences, Germanysince 2002: Lecturer, Division of Anatomical Sciences, UMMSsince 2008: M2 (second year medical students) elective seminars on the history and ethics of anatomical dissection and the history of anatomy in the Third ReichRelevant Publications:Hildebrandt S. Letter to the Editor. First Symposium on "Anatomie im Nationalsozialismus" (Anatomy in national socialism), Würzburg Germany, September 29, 2010. Clinical Anatomy 24:97-100 (2011)Hildebrandt S. Lessons to be Learned from the History of Anatomical Teaching in the United States of America: The Example of the University of Michigan. Anat Sci Edu 3:202-212 (2010)Hildebrandt S. Anatomy in the Third Reich: An Outline, Part 1. National Socialist Politics, Anatomical Institutions, and Anatomists. Clinical Anatomy 22:883-893 (2009)Hildebrandt S. Anatomy in the Third Reich: An Outline, Part 2. Bodies for Anatomy and Related Medical Disciplines. Clinical Anatomy 22:894-905 (2009)Hildebrandt S. Anatomy in the Third Reich: An Outline, Part 3. The Science and Ethics of Anatomy in National Socialist Germany and Postwar Consequences. Clinical Anatomy 22:906-915 (2009)Hildebrandt S. Capital Punishment and Anatomy: History and Ethics of an Ongoing Association. Clinical Anatomy 21:5-14 (2008)Hildebrandt S. How the Pernkopf Controversy Facilitated a Historical and Ethical Analysis of the Anatomical Sciences in Austria and Germany: A Recommendation for the Continued Use of the Pernkopf Atlas. Clinical Anatomy 19:91-100 (2006)