Research on bodies of the executed in German anatomy: An accepted method that changed during the Third Reich. Study of anatomical journals from 1924 to 1951

Abstract

While it is known that bodies of the executed were used for anatomical research in Germany during the Third Reich, it is unclear whether this type of work was unique to the time period or more common in Germany than elsewhere. The dissected persons and the anatomists involved have not been fully investigated. This study of anatomical journals from 1924 to 1951 shows that 166 out of 7,438 [2.2%] German language articles mentioned the use of “material” from the bodies of executed persons. In comparison, only 2 out of 4,702 English language articles explicitly mentioned bodies of the executed. From 1924 to1932, 33 of a total of 3,734 [1%] German articles listed the use of the executed. From 1933 to 1938 the number rose to 46 out of 2,265 [2%], and increased again from 1939 to 1945 to 73 out of 984 [7%]. After the war 15 out of 455 [3%] still dealt with “material” from the executed. German anatomists' familiarity with the use of the executed as a standard for healthy tissues even before 1933 may have contributed to the ease with which they accepted the “opportunities” (large‐scale studies and research on women) presented to them by unlimited access to bodies of the executed provided by the abusive National Socialist (NS) legislation and continued using them for some years after the war. German postwar anatomy was built in part on the bodies of NS victims. Information given in some publications will help with further identification of these victims. Clin. Anat. 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The women on stieve's list: Victims of national socialism whose bodies were used for anatomical research

“…The use of the terms ''victim of the National Socialist regime'' and human ''material'' is discussed in Hildebrandt, 2012a. In short, all persons executed following court proceedings in the time period from 1933 to 1945 are referred to as NS victims, regardless of the reason for the death verdict.…”

“…With the rise of histological research in the 19th and 20th centuries, freshness of ''material'' was considered to be essential for dependable study results. Thus, ''material'' from bodies of the executed, whose tissues could be processed within minutes after death, became the ''Goldstandard'' for work with certain sensitive tissues and was consistently quoted in German language anatomical literature even before 1933 (Hildebrandt, 2012a). However, such bodies were rare in Germany during the Weimar Republic and did not include the bodies of women.…”

“…Thus, anatomists eagerly made use of the increasing availability of more bodies of the executed of both genders provided by the increasingly harsh NS legislation. The frequency of executions rose significantly from 1938 on and especially in the later war years (Hildebrandt 2009b(Hildebrandt , 2012a. A typical example of a contemporary publication was the paper by Kick from the anatomical department in Breslau, who reported under ''material'': ''Under investigation were the livers of 16 mice, four guinea pigs, and six healthy human beings.…”

“…While the use of ''material'' from the bodies of the executed was the exception before 1933 it became anatomical routine thereafter. The use of ever increasing numbers of executed victims of a criminal regime led anatomists to studies that moved a questionable but at that time accepted traditional method into the area of highly unethical medical actions (Hildebrandt, 2012a).…”

First hand accounts of events in the laboratory of Prof. Eduard Pernkopf

“…This journal has published several articles on the history of anatomy during the Third Reich, including those of Hildebrandt (2006;2009a;2009b;2009c; 2012), Hildebrandt and Redies (2012), and Williams (2010). Although some historical research has been done on the ethical aspects of handling bodies at the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Vienna during the period shortly before, during and after the Second World War, many details remain unclear.…”