Medicine, Nazism, and the Holocaust

Medicine during the Holocaust is not a history that dates back more than 80 years, but rather a topic of continued relevance for our present and future. The moral development of every healthcare professional, whether a doctor or a nurse, should be grounded in an awareness of one of the darkest chapters in the history of healthcare: the involvement of doctors and medicine in the Holocaust.

In this course, we will delve into both the dark and bright aspects of medicine during the Holocaust. We will examine how the scientific and medical community contributed to the acts of murder and destruction in Nazi Germany, the collusion and unique contributions of scientific and medical institutions to the systems of power, and the moral degradation that took place in the medical-scientific establishment Nazi Germany.

We will address not only the historical and psychological aspects but also, and most importantly, the question of uniqueness: whether this collusion was specific to a particular time and place, or if what transpired on the 'other planet' (as described by Yehiel Dinur - Ka-Tzetnik) could occur again on our planet.

The course will also shed light on the brighter side of the Holocaust: how Jewish and non-Jewish doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers selflessly worked in ghettos and camps, and what lessons we can draw from their courage