Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
Ann Anat. 2013 Oct;195(5):381-92. doi: 10.1016/j.aanat.2013.05.001. Epub 2013 Jun 5.
The Anatomische Gesellschaft (anatomical society, AG) was founded in Germany in 1886 as an international society and remains the main organizing body of German anatomists to this day. A previous study of the history of the AG during National Socialism (NS) was based on the published proceedings of the AG and drew the preliminary conclusion that the "AG did not follow the path of preemptive obedience toward the new rulers" in contrast to some other professional societies. However, it was noted that archival sources were needed to support this conclusion and to illustrate the decision process within the society. Such sources are now available in the estate papers of Alfred Benninghoff, a leading anatomist at the time. His correspondence supports the previous finding that the AG was able to maintain its international character, thereby enabling it to avoid the active exclusion of "non-Aryan" members. The papers also confirm that the AG did not defend its vulnerable members as valiantly as the official narrative suggests, a fact illustrated in a controversy surrounding Martin Heidenhain. The interactions and conflicts between the leaders of the AG can now be reconstructed, i.e. between the secretary of the AG Heinrich von Eggeling, Benninghoff and Hermann Stieve. The Benninghoff documents also refer to a meeting of a subsection of the AG in November 1942, at which a disturbing radicalization of some anatomists developed. Finally, the papers reflect the political realities for German professionals trying to re-establish their science in a country divided into four occupation zones.
解剖学会（Anatomische Gesellschaft，AG）于 1886 年在德国成立，是一个国际学会，至今仍是德国解剖学家的主要组织机构。之前对纳粹时期（National Socialism，NS）解剖学会历史的研究是基于该学会的已发表会议记录进行的，并得出初步结论，即与其他一些专业学会不同，“该学会没有追随新统治者的预先服从道路”。然而，需要档案来源来支持这一结论，并说明学会内部的决策过程。现在，阿尔弗雷德·本宁霍夫（Alfred Benninghoff）的遗产文件中提供了这些档案来源，他是当时的一位杰出解剖学家。他的信件支持了之前的发现，即解剖学会能够保持其国际性质，从而避免主动排除“非雅利安”成员。这些文件还证实，解剖学会并没有像官方叙述所暗示的那样勇敢地为其脆弱的成员辩护，这一事实在围绕马丁·海登海因（Martin Heidenhain）的争议中得到了体现。现在可以重建解剖学会领导人之间的互动和冲突，即学会秘书海因里希·冯·埃格林（Heinrich von Eggeling）、本宁霍夫和赫尔曼·斯蒂夫（Hermann Stieve）之间的冲突。本宁霍夫的文件还提到了 1942 年 11 月解剖学会一个分部的会议，会上一些解剖学家的态度变得令人不安地激进。最后，这些文件反映了德国专业人士在一个被分为四个占领区的国家中试图重建科学时所面临的政治现实。
