Diagnosing death

Abstract

Many people are still uncomfortable with the topic of Nazi medicine Editor-The BMJ's issue commemorating the Nuremberg doctors' trial 1 is a courageous attempt to address an uneasy topic, for which the editor deserves praise. The following short account may show just how brave it is. Having a longstanding interest in uncovering Nazi medical atrocities, I decided to write a four part series on the subject and suggested the idea to the Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Being one of two editors in chief of this journal, I did not want to exert any pressure and accepted without further comment that the Belgian coeditor in chief rejected my offer. The Royal Belgium Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, which is officially affiliated to the journal, apparently heard of my plan and its rejection and was outraged by the notion of the journal touching the subject. When I mentioned medicine during the Third Reich in a recent editorial in the journal 2 the secretary general of the society Advice to authors We receive more letters than we can publish: we can currently accept only about one third. We prefer short letters that relate to articles published within the past four weeks. We also publish some "out of the blue" letters, which usually relate to matters of public policy. When deciding which letters to publish we favour originality, assertions supported by data or by citation, and a clear prose style. Letters should have fewer than 400 words (please give a word count) and no more than five references (including one to the BMJ article to which they relate); references should be in the Vancouver style. We welcome pictures. Letters should be typed and signed by each author, and each author's current appointment and address should be stated. We encourage you to declare any conflict of interest. Please enclose a stamped addressed envelope if you would like to know whether your letter has been accepted or rejected. We may post some letters submitted to us on the worldwide web before we decide on publication in the paper version. We will assume that correspondents consent to this unless they specifically say no. Letters will be edited and may be shortened.