Weisz George M, Hemstreet Deborah E-S
School of Humanities, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
School of Humanities, University of New England, Armidale, Australia.
Rambam Maimonides Med J. 2024 Oct 28;15(4):e0019. doi: 10.5041/RMMJ.10533.
The appointment of a new chancellor in 1933 marked the beginning of the Third Reich in Germany. The ideology of the Nazi Party focused on establishing a pure Aryan state characterized by nationalism and racial superiority. Their goals would be achieved through a totalitarian form of government that enforced the subjugation, exclusion, and elimination of those they defined as inferior minorities, particularly Jews, who were depicted as non-human. Implementation of the Nazi ideology required the exclusion of Jewish people and other dissenters, particularly Jewish physicians, from their professions. The exclusion of Jewish physicians, referred to herein as a "Medical Professional Elimination Program," was gradually imposed on other Jewish professions in nations absorbed by the Third Reich, and particularly enforced by incorporated Austria. Why did German and Austrian doctors support the Nazi racial ideology, the removal of Jewish physicians from every possible sphere of influence, and subsequently participate in criminal medical research and experimentation, as well as euthanasia of perceived non-contributors to society, and become involved in refining the effectiveness of the death camps? Was the Medical Professional Elimination Program an opportunistic political concept, or was it part of an entrenched ideology? With these questions in mind, the lives of four key Nazi physicians and two institutions are examined.
1933年一位新总理的任命标志着德国第三帝国的开端。纳粹党的意识形态专注于建立一个以民族主义和种族优越为特征的纯粹雅利安国家。他们的目标将通过极权主义的政府形式来实现，这种政府形式强制压迫、排斥和消灭那些他们定义为劣等少数群体的人，尤其是犹太人，犹太人被描绘为非人类。纳粹意识形态的实施要求将犹太人及其他持不同政见者，特别是犹太医生，排除在他们的职业之外。将犹太医生排除在外，在此被称为“医学专业人员清除计划”，该计划逐渐强加于被第三帝国吞并的国家中的其他犹太职业，在并入的奥地利尤其得到强化执行。为什么德国和奥地利的医生支持纳粹种族意识形态，将犹太医生从各个可能的影响领域清除出去，随后参与犯罪性的医学研究和实验，以及对那些被认为对社会没有贡献的人实施安乐死，并参与完善死亡集中营的效率？“医学专业人员清除计划”是一个机会主义的政治概念，还是一种根深蒂固的意识形态的一部分？带着这些问题，我们审视了四位关键纳粹医生的生平以及两个机构。
