A long shadow: Nazi doctors, moral vulnerability and contemporary medical culture #SundayReading

Animated map showing German and Axis allies’ conquests in Europe throughout World War II (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ABSTRACT
More than 7% of all German physicians became members of the Nazi SS during World War II, compared
with less than 1% of the general population. In so doing,these doctors willingly participated in genocide,
something that should have been antithetical to the values of their chosen profession. The participation of
physicians in torture and murder both before and after World War II is a disturbing legacy seldom discussed in medical school, and underrecognised in contemporary medicine. Is there something inherent in being
a physician that promotes a transition from healer to murderer? With this historical background in mind, the
author, a medical student, defines and reflects upon moral vulnerabilities still endemic to contemporary
medical culture.

Read full article here genocide

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• The Nazi Patient (drvitelli.typepad.com)
• German doctors apologize for Holocaust horrors (vitals.msnbc.msn.com)