[German psychiatry in the 20th century. Life course of the psychiatrist Johannes Suckow (1896-1994)].

Johannes Suckow's biography reflects the history of German psychiatry in the first two thirds of the twentieth century in an exemplary way. Above all, he became distinctly influenced by Emil Kraepelin and Karl Bonhoeffer. During World War II he worked for a short time under Carl Schneider at a research department concerned with the "Euthanasia program". Eventually he built up the Department of Psychiatry and Neurology at the Dresden Medical School to run it for eight years. We examine Suckow's social background and motives and show why he failed to stand up for his humanistic convictions under the Nazi regime.