Uncovered Impact of Historically Conducted Nazi Medical Tests on Modern Medicine

In a significant step towards acknowledging and remembering the victims of horrific medical atrocities, a new online database has been published, shedding light on the extensive human experimentation that took place during the Nazi era.

The database, compiled by the Leopoldina Academy of Sciences and the Max Planck Society, contains detailed profiles of over 16,000 victims, including their names, personal details, individual experiments, and the institutions involved. This comprehensive resource aims to provide a platform for remembrance and a starting point for further research.

During the Nazi era, forced medical research and human experiments were conducted on various persecuted groups, including Jews, prisoners of war, Sinti and Roma, disabled people, and others. These abhorrent practices were not exclusive to the Nazi regime; they also took place in colonial contexts worldwide.

The database reveals that over 200 institutions in Germany and Europe were linked to these medical crimes. Institutions such as the Wehrmacht, which participated in forced euthanasia and the killings of disabled patients, and SS medical personnel at concentration camps like Dachau, who conducted lethal medical experiments on inmates, were among those implicated. Many of these institutions have not been fully held accountable for their activities to this day.

The Lancet Commission on Medicine, Nazism, and the Holocaust, established to address medical transgressions under unjust regimes, published a detailed report in 2023, revealing the extent of these atrocities. The commission highlighted that parts of human genetics, psychiatry, and medical anthropology methodically resorted to practices developed and applied under the Nazis.

It is important to note that while most of the techniques and data from the Nazi era are no longer relevant and therefore not actively used, findings from this research have been incorporated into general medical knowledge with continued impact. This underscores the need for critical reflection and ethical debate about how to deal with these findings in medicine and research.

The reappraisal of collections at various locations of the Max Planck Society did not begin until 1997, and systematic revision and burial of these specimens did not occur until the 1980s and '90s, following political and social pressure. However, some scientists and institutions continued their work relatively unchallenged after the war.

Labeling and contextualization of these findings are not enough; they must be supplemented by naming the victims, their biographies, and their suffering. This new database is a significant step towards achieving that goal.

Individual countries, especially those with a colonial history, are facing up to this responsibility. Other countries, such as Japan, have not yet done so. The hope is that this database will serve as a catalyst for further investigations and acknowledgement of these dark chapters in history.

The publication of this database is a testament to the importance of remembering the past and learning from it. It serves as a reminder that ethical conduct in research and medicine is not a recent development but a responsibility that must be upheld at all times.