How did Hitler get millions of people to follow along blindly and not fight back? Now our fellow Americans are taking the same path.
From 1933 to 1945, German physicians, bio scientists, and nurses – the best in the world at the time – willingly committed the most egregious violations of medical and professional ethics in the name of Holocaust medicine. Guided by eugenic theories of race, they sterilized 400,000 citizens against their will, “euthanized” 200,000 disabled German children and adults, and created the gas chambers and crematoria that were used for the mass murder of 6 million Jews, Poles, and Gypsies in the “final solution.” Without the enthusiastic support of physicians, nurses, bio scientists, and healthcare policy makers, the Holocaust might not have happened. For Holocaust survivors, their families, and the medical community, it is important to remember this time period and learn from it, so we can be better equipped to do no harm.
The mission of the Center for Medicine after the Holocaust (CMATH) is to challenge doctors, nurses, and bio scientists to personally confront the medical ethics of the Holocaust and apply that knowledge to contemporary practice and research, being mindful of the Hippocratic Oath with every step. CMATH is concerned that healthcare personnel, like all human beings, have the capacity to believe they are doing good when they are actually doing harm.
By studying the past, we hope to provide knowledge for today that will prevent the repetition of previous errors and lead to wisdom in future doctors, nurses, bio scientists, and healthcare policy makers so that they will provide better care for their patients and fellow citizens. If the best physicians, nurses, and scientists of the early 20th century could sacrifice their patients for utopian goals, can we be certain that we will not do the same.
Our Champions are either faculty members in schools of medicine, nursing, public health, and other health sciences, or other scholarly individuals who study, teach, and research medicine and the Holocaust. Using videos, content modules, and other resources provided by the Center for Medicine after the Holocaust (CMATH), they challenge their students and colleagues to personally confront the medical behavior and doctoral ethics of professionals in Germany, the United States, and elsewhere during and after the Third Reich, and apply their new knowledge to contemporary medical ethics, research, and healthcare policy. Complete Article and Web Site