The persecution of pharmacologists in Nazi Germany and Austria.

The present article is based on the brochure Verfolgte Deutschsprachige Pharmakologen 1933 by Löffelholz and Trendelenburg (2008). This book that describes the fate of the Persecuted German-speaking Pharmacologists commemorates these victims of an inhumane ideology. Half of the persecuted pharmacologists emigrated in 1933, while the majority of the German 'non-Aryans' refrained from emigrating until 1938. The reasons for the early emigration of most of the persecuted pharmacologists were the instantaneous dismissals in 1933 of almost all 'non-Aryan' scientists employed in research institutions and the fair chance to continue scientific careers in exile. The German pharmacologists emigrated to 12 different countries; at first to neighbouring countries, later on to USA (about 40%) and Great Britain (29%). Turkey, Brazil and the Jewish research institutions in Palestine hoped that immigration of these scientists would raise their academic level towards that of the Western industrial nations. The individual life stories of the persecuted pharmacologists exposed the whole range of persecution: the humiliating dismissals, the desperate odyssey of emigration, the dramatic escape from the concentration camps, and the Holocaust. On the other hand, there were cases of brilliant scientific careers in exile (especially in Great Britain). The behaviour of the 'Aryan' colleagues in Germany also exhibited a wide range, from fanatic following of the Nazi policy, opportunism and Prussian obedience to the Nazi government on the one hand, to opposition and resistance on the other. The present study describes the fate of persecuted pharmacologists against the background of the persecution policy of the Nazis.