Gatekeepers of Extermination: SS Camp Physicians and Their Scope of Action.

The role of camp physicians of the Waffen-SS ("Armed SS," military branch of the Nazi Party's Schutzstaffel) in the implementation of the Holocaust has been the subject of limited research, even though they occupied a key position in the extermination process. From 1943 and 1944 onward, SS camp physicians made the individual medical decisions on whether each prisoner was fit for work or was immediately subjected to extermination, not only at the Auschwitz labor and extermination camp but also in pure labor camps like Buchenwald and Dachau. This was due to a functional change in the concentration camp system during World War II, where the selection of prisoners, which had previously been carried out by nonmedical SS camp staff, became a main task of the medical camp staff. The initiative to transfer sole responsibility for the selections came from the physicians themselves and was influenced by structural racism, sociobiologically oriented medical expertise, and pure economic rationality. It can be seen as a further radicalization of the decision making practiced until then in the murder of the sick. However, there was a far-reaching scope of action within the hierarchical structures of the Waffen-SS medical service on both the macro and micro levels. But what can this teach us for medical practice today? The historical experience of the Holocaust and Nazi medicine can provide a moral compass for physicians to be sensitive to the potential for abuse of power and ethical dilemmas inherent in medicine. Thus, the lessons from the Holocaust could be a starting point for reflecting on the value of human life in the modern economized and highly hierarchical medical sector.

Olhares e produções de saberes: narrativas da psicologia acerca das relações raciais / Gaze and knowledge production: psychology narratives about racial relations / Mirada y producción de saber: narrativas de la psicología sobre las relaciones raciales

Este artigo realiza um percurso histórico das narrativas teóricas construídas pelas elites intelectuais brancas brasileiras sobre as relações raciais no campo psicológico, bem como os efeitos desse processo no desenvolvimento da psicologia enquanto ciência e profissão. Como a maioria de profissionais da área é branca em um país cuja maioria da população é negra, torna-se cada vez mais urgente e necessário revisitar tanto as bases da psicologia acerca das relações raciais quanto o modo como essas relações se dão no cotidiano, com vistas a construir caminhos para pensar teoria e prática comprometidas com a igualdade racial. Nesse sentido, tecem-se considerações sobre as narrativas teóricas acerca das relações raciais no campo científico brasileiro, destacando o lugar da psicologia nesse percurso. Em seguida, discutem-se as relações entre as perspectivas da realidade social e das produções de saberes nesse campo. Ainda mais especificamente no campo da psicologia, evidenciam-se os paradigmas que orientaram os estudos sobre as relações raciais na área e, por fim, aponta-se um caminho possível para a construção de uma ciência psicológica compromissada com a igualdade racial.(AU)

This paper presents a historical overview of the theoretical narratives constructed by white Brazilian intellectual elites about race relations within psychology and its the effects on the development of Psychology as a science and a profession. As psychology professionals are white, whereas the majority of the population is black, it is increasingly urgent and necessary to revisit the foundations of psychology on everyday life racial relations, towards a theory and practice committed to racial equality. The text presents considerations on the theoretical narratives about race relations in the Brazilian scientific field, highlighting the role played by psychology. It then discusses the relations between social reality and knowledge production in this field. Regarding psychology specifically, it highlights the paradigms that guided studies on race relations in the field and proposes a possible way to develop a psychological science committed to racial equality.(AU)

Este trabajo realiza un recorrido histórico sobre las narrativas teóricas construidas por las élites intelectuales brasileñas blancas sobre las relaciones raciales en el campo de la Psicología, y los efectos de este proceso en el desarrollo de la psicología como ciencia y profesión. Como la mayoría de los profesionales en el área son blancos en un país donde la mayoría de la población es negra, es cada vez más urgente y necesario revisar los fundamentos de la psicología sobre las relaciones raciales, y cómo son estas relaciones en la vida cotidiana, para que podamos construir teoría y práctica comprometidas con la igualdad racial. Primero, se reflexionará sobre las narrativas teóricas de las relaciones raciales en este campo científico brasileño, destacando el lugar de la psicología en este camino. Luego, se discutirán las relaciones entre las perspectivas sobre la realidad social y la producción de conocimiento en este campo. Aún más específicamente en el campo de la psicología, se resaltarán los paradigmas que guiaron los estudios sobre las relaciones raciales en el área y, finalmente, se señalará un posible camino en la construcción de una ciencia psicológica comprometida con la igualdad racial.(AU)

[" without a visible sign of protest or at least solidarity from colleagues": the expulsion of neuroscientists from Hamburg]. / " ohne ein sichtbares Zeichen des Protestes oder wenigstens der Solidarität der Kollegen": die Vertreibung von Neurowissenschaftlern aus Hamburg.

In Hamburg, the National Socialists' racially motivated exclusion principally hit neurologists from two institutions: the Eppendorf Neurological Clinic (director until 1934 Max Nonne) and the Psychiatric and Neurological Clinic of Friedrichsberg State Hospital (director Wilhelm Weygandt). The chief physician of the neurological department of Barmbek Hospital, Heinrich Embden (1871-1941), who had been trained by Nonne, emigrated to Brazil, whereas Friedrich Wohlwill (1881-1958), another Nonne pupil who had been a pathologist at St Georg since 1924, lived for many years in Lisbon, before he found a new scientific home at the Harvard Medical School. The cerebrospinal fluid researcher Victor Kafka (1881-1955), a Freemason and intermittent member of the Communist Party, was briefly in so-called protective custody (Schutzhaft) in Fuhlsbüttel then fled via Norway to Sweden. Hermann Josephy (1887-1960) and Walter R. Kirschbaum (1894-1982), both imprisoned in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp after the November pogroms in 1938, could successfully continue their professional careers in Chicago. Richard Loewenberg (1898-1954) first opted to continue his career in China, then changed his mind and also went to the USA after the Japanese invasion. With the exception of the latter all were full members of the Society of German Neurologists. The broad scope of their research work clearly illustrates that in addition to clinical core competence, former neurologists could intensively follow scientific interests in the neighboring disciplines of pathology, serology, and psychiatry.

Proteins, possibly human, found in World War II concentration camp artifact.

Museums displaying artifacts of the human struggle against oppression are often caught in their own internal struggle between presenting factual and unbiased descriptions of their collections, or relying on testament of survivors. Often this quandary is resolved in favor of what can be verified, not what is remembered. However, with improving instrumentation, methods and informatic approaches, science can help uncover evidence able to reconcile memory and facts. Following World War II, thousands of small, cement-like disks with numbers impressed on one side were found at concentration camps throughout Europe. Survivors claimed these disks were made of human cremains; museums erred on the side of caution-without documentation of the claims, was it justifiable to present them as fact? The ability to detect species relevant biological material in these disks could help resolve this question. Proteomic mass spectrometry of five disks revealed all contained proteins, including collagens and hemoglobins, suggesting they were made, at least in part, of animal remains. A new protein/informatics approach to species identification showed that while human was not always identified as the top contributor, human was the most likely explanation for one disk. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of protein recovery from cremains. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD035267.

Hunger Disease in Southern France Internment Camps during World War II: The Pioneering Studies of Dr. Joseph Weill.

BACKGROUND: Dr. Joseph Weill was a French Jewish doctor who made significant contributions to the knowledge of hunger disease in the refugee camps in southern France during World War II. He was involved with the clandestine network of escape routes for Jewish children from Nazi-occupied France to Switzerland. Take home messages • During the Holocaust, in the ghettoes and death camps, a few research projects, mainly on hunger and infectious diseases, were performed by Jewish physicians and scientists • Jewish and non-Jewish prisoners were incarcerated within the notorious system of internment camps in southern France • Dr. Joseph Weill (1902-1988), a French Jewish physician and a distinguished member of the Résistance managed to enter the internment camps and medically assist the inmates in addition to performing systematic research and follow-up of those who presented with hunger disease.

Dental evidence of human remains of a Slavic soldier population deported in concentration camps during World War II.

Aims: The aim of this paper was to analyse post-mortem dental records of a collection of 93 skeletal remains exhumed from the ossuary of Bari Municipal Cemetery, Apulia, Italy. These skeletal remains belonged to Slavic soldiers deported in 1941 during World War II in two Italian concentration camps and who died in 1946-1947. Methods: A total number of 1949 teeth were analysed according to the American Board of Forensic Odontology and the WHO methods. The majority of the victims were men (95%) between the age of 18 and 62. Results: The results showed the dental health situation of a population of soldiers of World War II, in particular the high rate of caries (35%), periodontal disease (61%), and dental wear (65%) according to the high stress level of the soldiers during the armed conflict and the subsequent deportation. Conclusions: This is the first study reported in literature that analyses the effects of war and deportation on soldiers' pathological conditions of the oral cavity. This analysis also confirmed the usefulness of teeth for anthropological and forensic research thanks to their high resistance and preservation even after post-mortem modifications and different environmental factors.

"PLAYING WITH REALITY" IN A NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMP.

This paper explores the function of play under traumatic circumstances, focusing on playing with the reality of a Nazi concentration camp. The goal of playing was to enhance life forces, which was achieved by active mastery of the passive trauma, re-establishment of inner equilibrium, transformation of internal reality into a more bearable one, recovery of symbolic functioning. The analysis of the movie "Life is Beautiful" is used for illustrating this theme.

[The pathologist Hans Klein (1912-1984) : Autopsy of his role in the "Third Reich"]. / Der Pathologe Hans Klein (1912­1984) : Obduktion seiner Rolle im "Dritten Reich".

The role of pathologist Hans Klein during the National Socialist era and his career in post-war Germany have hardly received systematic attention. During World War II, Hans Klein worked in two medical institutions, where he collaborated with individuals who were significantly involved in Nazi crimes. Klein's participation initially extended mainly to his work as an employed pathologist at the Rudolf Virchow Hospital in Berlin. There he was introduced to autopsy practices in the context of the children's euthanasia programme and autopsies of victims of medical experiments. Later, a shift in his activities is noticeable at the Hohenlychen Sanatorium. Klein's activities there increasingly involved independent research or voluntary collaboration in the projects of other scientists that were closely connected to the SS and experiments on human beings in concentration camps. He never had to face justice. His role was not further investigated by the Allies - probably due to his non-existent Nazi party and SS membership.

Forced to join the Waffen-SS? Chief pharmacist Victor Capesius (1907-1985) and his role in Auschwitz concentration camp.

Victor Capesius (1907-1985) attained sad fame as chief pharmacist in the Auschwitz concentration camp. After the war he outlined himself as a victim of his time and claimed to have been forced into the Waffen-SS as a so-called Romanian "Volksdeutscher" (ethnic German). But does this claim stand up to critical scrutiny? What was his actual role in Auschwitz, how did his life develop in the postwar period, how did he himself evaluate his actions in the Third Reich, and to what extent do self-image and historical facts coincide? These are precisely the questions that this article explores. The study is based on primary sources from various archives. These are supplemented and compared with the existing literature on Capesius, the role of pharmacists in the Third Reich, and the Auschwitz concentration camp.
The analysis shows that Capesius was not only complicit in the criminal acts in the concentration camp, but directly involved in the systematic killing of thousands of Jewish people - among other things, by dispensing Zyklon B and phenol and by the lethal selection of people at the ramp. The alleged compulsion to join the Waffen-SS, on the other hand, cannot be substantiated. After 1945, Capesius was imprisoned twice by the Allies, but only charged in the first Auschwitz trial in the 1960s. Despite a guilty verdict, he was released from prison as early as 1968. At the end of his life, Capesius could look back on a successful career as a pharmacist and businessman in Germany. At no time did he come to a self-critical evaluation of his role in the Third Reich.

Genetic and phylogeographic evidence for Jewish Holocaust victims at the Sobibór death camp.

Six million Jews were killed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II. Archaeological excavations in the area of the death camp in Sobibór, Poland, revealed ten sets of human skeletal remains presumptively assigned to Polish victims of the totalitarian regimes. However, their genetic analyses indicate that the remains are of Ashkenazi Jews murdered as part of the mass extermination of European Jews by the Nazi regime and not of otherwise hypothesised non-Jewish partisan combatants. In accordance with traditional Jewish rite, the remains were reburied in the presence of a Rabbi at the place of their discovery.

Age estimation from dry bone measurements: evidence from a sample of soldiers exiled in two concentration camps in Bari.

The mandible undergoes remodelling and morphological alterations throughout the life of an individual, and it is subjected to sex- and age-related structural changes. Personal identification from skeletal remains represents one of the most difficult challenges for a forensic anthropologist. The study of mandibular morphology is an important aid in determining the sex and age of skeletal remains. The objective of this study was to evaluate the age-related changes of three mandibular dimensions through dry bone measurements: bigonial width, ramus height and gonial angle. A total of 93 skeletal remains were included in this study, from a group of soldiers of Yugoslav origin who lived in two concentration camps in Bari (southern Italy) during World War II. These are included in the collection of the Forensic Anthropology Laboratory of the Institute of Forensic Medicine of Bari. The measurements were recorded after comprehensive examination by a forensic anthropologist and a forensic odonto-stomatologist. The data obtained were analysed statistically using a bivariate test and a multivariate linear regression model, using the Statal 13MP software. The results indicate that the bigonial width and gonial angle vary significantly according to age. In conclusion, this study confirms that the mandible is useful for age estimation in the identification of skeletal remains using these specific mandibular measurements when performed on dry bone without radiological distortion.

Jasenovac.

Jasenovac was a camp run by the Ustase Supervisory Service (UNS) of the Independent State of Croatia during World War II. It was located approximately 100 km south-east of Zagreb on the banks of the Sava River. Although the purpose of, and number of deaths in, the camp have been debated, it appears that a significant number of Serbs, Roma and Jews died and/or were executed at this site between 1941 and 1945. The site demonstrates that not all detention camps at this time were controlled by the German government and that cultural/religious groups other than the Jews were detainees. Balkan mass graves may therefore derive from different conflicts at different times, and so establishing accurate conclusions from excavations often requires a verifiable and plausible context and an understanding of burial processes.

Josef Mengele's research program on noma in Auschwitz.

Noma research protocol was conducted in the Auschwitz Birkernau camp by the infamous (Schutzstaffel) SS doctor Josef Mengele who was known as "the Angel of Death" in close collaboration with researchers at the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institute in Berlin Crimes. Mengele who held the post of camp doctor in the "Gypsy camp" saw an opportunity to set up a research program on gypsy children called "Nomaprojekt". The purpose of this program was to study the causes of noma and to find treatment methods. The experimental treatment protocol consisted of administering a combination of sulfanilamido-ethyl thiodiazole and nicotinic acid. Heads and selected body parts of children suffering from noma were prepared in formaldehyde jars and sent to researchers at the prestigious Kaiser-Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity and Eugenics in Berlin-Dahlem, but also to the SS Medical Academy in Graz to carry out further examinations. The experimental protocol for the treatment of noma among Gypsy children is one of the most horrific crimes that Dr. Josef Mengele committed in the Auschwitz camp.

Lt. Cmdr. Laura M. Cobb (1892-1981): Chief navy nurse who oversaw medical care in WWII civilian concentration camps.

Lt. Commander Laura M. Cobb was a chief nurse in the U.S. Navy during WWII who was imprisoned by Japan for more than three years in the Occupied Philippines. Under her direction, eleven other navy nurse POWs maintained rank and provided medical care to thousands of civilian inmates. Early in the war, Cobb courageously mislabeled quinine as baking soda in order to stop enemy medical corps from stealing the supply. She is credited with saving inmates from malaria. In 1943, she oversaw the creation of an infirmary at the Los Baños concentration camp where her nurses relied on scavenged supplies and local resources to provide medical care to more than 2,400 men, women and children. In U.S. military medical history, she is one of seventy-eight nurse POWs; and the only chief nurse in navy medical history to continue her duties while in enemy captivity. She received the Bronze Star with a gold star device and her citation honored her "dauntless determination, zealous efforts and unselfish devotion to duty in the face of unprecedented hardship."

Holocaust exposure and late-life cognitive performance in men with coronary heart disease.

BACKGROUND: Holocaust victims experienced extreme physical and mental stress that could lead to prolonged deficits in psychological and physiological well-being. We aimed to examine whether exposure to Holocaust conditions is associated with cognitive function and decline in a sample of old male adults with coronary heart disease (CHD). METHODS: The sample included 346 individuals with CHD who participated in a clinical trial in 1990-1997 (mean age 56.7 ± 6.5 y). During 2004-2008 (mean age 71.8 ± 6.5 y) and 2011-2013 (mean age 77.1 ± 6.4 y) participants underwent computerized cognitive assessments. Exposure to Holocaust conditions was based on self-report at the second assessment. Linear regression and mixed-effect models were conducted to evaluate the associations between Holocaust survivorship and subsequent cognitive performance and rate of cognitive decline. RESULTS: Forty-Three participants (12%) survived concentration camps/ghettos, 69 (20%) were Holocaust survivors who escaped concentration camps/ghettos, and 234 (68%) were not Holocaust survivors. After adjustment for potential confounders, concentration camp/ghetto survivors had poorer global cognitive performance and poorer attention (ß = -3.90; 95%CI: 7.11;-0.68 and ß = -4.11; 95%CI: 7.83;-0.38, respectively) compared to individuals who were not exposed to Holocaust conditions. Additionally, participants who reported being at concentration camps/ghettoes had increased cognitive decline in global performance and executive function (ß = -0.19; 95%CI: 0.37;-0.008 and ß = -0.29; 95%CI: 0.53;-0.06, respectively) compared to participants who were not Holocaust survivors. Lastly, those who were Holocaust survivors but not in concentration camps/ghettos had greater decline in attention (ß = -0.11; 95%CI: 0.21;-0.01). DISCUSSION: Exposure to Holocaust conditions in early-life may be linked with poorer cognitive function and greater cognitive decline decades later in old-adults with CHD.

Hans Wolfgang Sachs (1912-2000) : From Nazi Volkstumskämpfer and chief pathologist of the Reich Physician SS to chairholder in the Federal Republic of Germany. English version.

During the Second World War, the German Wehrmacht and the SS tested various chemical warfare agents on prisoners of concentration camps. The SS needed a pathologist to do this. Therefore, Reichsarzt SS Ernst-Robert Grawitz recruited the 32-year-old Hans Wolfgang Sachs. Despite his position as senior pathologist at the office of the Reichsarzt SS, Sachs was spared interrogation and prosecution after 1945, although the prosecution presented a document about chemical warfare and human experiments during the Nuremberg medical trial. In this, Sachs was named as a participant in so-called "N-Stoff" (chlorine trifluoride) experiments. Little is known about Sachs to this day. This article is intended to close this gap. Of particular interest are the motives and reasons why Sachs joined the party and the SS, as well as his career after 1945.

Excavation of mass graves with Serbian context: Complexity of the political milieu.

This paper will discuss the complexity of the investigation of mass graves in today's Serbia (part of ex Yugoslavia), belonging primarily to WWII with an exception of one mass grave from WWI, through the prism of historical events behind it. By interpreting historical and political circumstances, we will show why and on what occasions mass graves, as cultural-historical monuments and symbols of the sufferings of Serbs, Jews, Romani, and other nations or ethnic groups, remained outside the focus of expert teams. Also, through examples of explored sites related to WWII (Visnjica, Topola, Kragujevac, Ada Ciganlija), it will be shown the importance of engaging the forensic expert teams to locate sites, identifing victims and interpretation of historical events from their perspective.