The Editors of Scientific Journals in Dentistry in Nazi Germany and after 1945: A Sociodemographic Study.

This socio-demographic study examines the effects of the Nazification of the professional press in the Third Reich using the example of the dental press organs. Three subgroups were examined: (1) dental editors who lost their positions after Hitler assumed power; (2) editors who were newly appointed or confirmed in their positions during the Third Reich; and (3) editors who were recruited for these positions in the post-war period. The study was based on archival sources, contemporary registers, and dental journals from 1932-1949. These sources were supplemented by available secondary literature. A total of 34 editors were identified and their biographies reconstructed. Several of the editors appointed during the Nazi regime were able take up their positions again after 1945. Overall, the majority of editors appointed between 1945-1950 were former party members; in contrast, not a single Nazi victim was appointed to a position of this kind. We conclude in this article that denazification had no consequences for the specialist dental press. On the contrary, dentists who had benefited professionally from the Nazi regime during the Third Reich stood a good chance of furthering their careers after 1945.

Hans Wolfgang Sachs (1912-2000) : From Nazi Volkstumskämpfer and chief pathologist of the Reich Physician SS to chairholder in the Federal Republic of Germany. English version.

During the Second World War, the German Wehrmacht and the SS tested various chemical warfare agents on prisoners of concentration camps. The SS needed a pathologist to do this. Therefore, Reichsarzt SS Ernst-Robert Grawitz recruited the 32-year-old Hans Wolfgang Sachs. Despite his position as senior pathologist at the office of the Reichsarzt SS, Sachs was spared interrogation and prosecution after 1945, although the prosecution presented a document about chemical warfare and human experiments during the Nuremberg medical trial. In this, Sachs was named as a participant in so-called "N-Stoff" (chlorine trifluoride) experiments. Little is known about Sachs to this day. This article is intended to close this gap. Of particular interest are the motives and reasons why Sachs joined the party and the SS, as well as his career after 1945.

Nazi Dentists on Trial: On the Political Complicity of a Long-Neglected Professional Community.

Studies on the complicity of the medical profession in the crimes of the Third Reich are on the rise. This also applies to the question of the extent to which doctors were brought to justice in international trials after World War II. This topic, however, has hardly been considered-let alone systematically investigated-with respect to German dentists. It is precisely this gap that this article will address. First, we quantitatively identify all dentists who were brought to justice in the post-war period. Second, we give a profile of this group. We focus on the following questions: Who among the group was brought to trial, and when? What crimes were they accused of, which sentences were handed down, and how did these sentences affect their future lives? Our study is based primarily on archival sources, which we analyzed with respect to the relevant secondary literature. Contrary to the widely-held assumption that dentists had almost never had been made to stand trial after the end of the war, we identified 48 dentists who were accused in court. The prototypical accused dentist was male, lived in a traditional family model, belonged to the National Socialist Workers' Party (NSDAP) and the Waffen-SS (Schutzstaffel), and was part of the so-called Kriegsjugendgeneration. The most frequent allegations made against these men were the theft of dental gold of murdered Nazi victims, an accusation unique to dentists; (accessory to) murder or manslaughter; and involvement in the deadly selections made in the concentration camps. In total, eight dentists were executed. Generally speaking, the earlier these proceedings and the sentencing took place, the harsher the sentence was. Many of those who received prison sentences subsequently found their way back into the dental profession.

[Hans Wolfgang Sachs (1912-2000) : From Nazi "Volkstumskämpfer" and chief pathologist of the Reich Physician SS to chairholder in the Federal Republic. German version]. / Hans Wolfgang Sachs (1912­2000) : Vom nationalsozialistischen "Volkstumskämpfer" und "Leitenden Pathologen beim Reichsarzt-SS" zum Lehrstuhlinhaber in der Bundesrepublik.

During the Second World War, the German Wehrmacht and the SS tested various chemical warfare agents on prisoners of concentration camps. The SS needed a pathologist to do this. Therefore Reichsarzt SS Ernst-Robert Grawitz recruited the 32-year-old Hans Wolfgang Sachs. Despite his position as senior pathologist at the office of the Reichsarzt SS, Sachs was spared interrogation and prosecution after 1945, although the prosecution presented a document about chemical warfare and human experiments during the Nuremberg medical trial. In this, Sachs was named as a participant in so-called "N-Stoff" (chlorine trifluoride) experiments. Little is known about Sachs to this day. This article is intended to close this gap. Of particular interest are the motives and reasons why Sachs joined the party and the SS, as well as his career after 1945.

'It's all over now.' The dentist Helmut Kunz and the killing of Reich Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels' children at the end of the Third Reich.

Joseph Goebbels, Reich Propaganda Minister of National Socialist Germany and one of the most powerful Nazi politicians, committed suicide at the end of the Second World War together with his wife, Magda, thus escaping his political responsibilities. Prior to committing suicide, the Goebbels' conspired to murder their six children, and to this end, enlisted the help of the dentist Helmut Kunz. Not until 1959, however, did Kunz stand trial on six counts of aiding and abetting in a homicide. Using extensive court records, this article examines the life of the dentist Helmut Kunz, his function in the Third Reich, and his role in the murder of the Goebbels children.

In the shadow of National Socialism: Early emigration and suicide of the oral pathologist Rudolf Kronfeld (1901-1940).

The physician Rudolf Kronfeld (1901-1940) is undoubtedly one of the pioneering and most influential representatives of modern histopathology and oral pathology. Already at a young age he became a protagonist of the renowned, internationally leading "Vienna School". Kronfeld's outstanding professional significance stands in a peculiar contrast to the research situation to date: His curriculum vitae, but also his family background - and here in particular the fate of his family members in the Third Reich - have received little attention so far. Thus, the present study attempts to shed light on Kronfeld's life and work and, in particular, the complex implications of his Jewish background. It is based on archival sources and a systematic re-analysis of the relevant specialist literature. The analysis demonstrates that Kronfeld's early emigration was driven in part by the anti-Semitism that was tangible in Vienna in the 1920s. The last years of his life were considerably burdened by a serious illness and by repressive experiences which his Jewish family members and companions underwent after the "Anschluss" of Austria into Nazi Germany. Both essential events presumably contributed significantly to Kronfeld's sudden suicide in 1940, at the height of his professional success.

The two lives of neurologist Helmut J. Bauer (1914-2008): Renowned MS specialist and National Socialist.

In 2008, the internationally renowned neurologist and university professor Helmut Johannes Bauer died at the age of 93 years. In the numerous obituaries and tributes to him, the years between 1933 and 1945 are either omitted or simplified; the Nazi past of Helmut Bauer has hardly been explored. Based on original documents dating from the Third Reich and the early Federal Republic of Germany as well as relevant secondary writings, Bauer's life before 1945 was traced to gain knowledge of his exact activities and tasks during the Second World War. Bauer was actively involved in Nazi crimes. He was a member of the so-called Künsberg special command of the SS and also worked in a prominent position at the Institute for Microbiology as well as for the Foreign Department of the Reich Physicians' Chamber. After World War II, Bauer underwent denazification and, like many others, was able to pursue his further medical career undisturbed, building on the contacts he had already made during the Nazi period.

Carl August Krauspe (1895-1983)-Founder and honorary member of the "European Society of Pathology" and "politically reliable" National Socialist.

The name of the Hamburg pathologist Carl August Krauspe (1895-1983) is closely linked to the history of the "European Society of Pathology" (ESP) and the "German Pathological Society" (DGP): He was one of the founding fathers of the ESP, became its vice president, and was appointed an honorary member in 1983. From 1953-1962 he also served as secretary of the DGP and editor of the association's proceedings. In 1962/63 he finally held the chairmanship of the DGP. Most of the publications about Carl Krauspe accordingly pay tribute to these professional functions and offices. Hardly mentioned - let alone critically discussed - is the fact that Krauspe joined the "Nazi Party" (NSDAP), the Storm Detachment (SA) and other Nazi organizations after Hitler's "seizure of power". The content and tenor of Krauspe's reports on politically exposed colleagues have also hardly been examined. With this in mind, the present study pursues the goal of exploring Krauspe's political role and his possible involvement in National Socialism. It is based on previously unexamined archival sources and a reanalysis of the relevant research literature. The paper points out that Krauspe willingly served the Nazi regime during the Third Reich. Thanks to his "loyalty to the party" he was able to significantly advance his own career after 1933. In addition, individual examples show that Krauspe's "expert reports" on colleagues before 1945, but also in post-war Germany, were obviously ideologically influenced. After 1945 he failed to make a late personal contribution to the making of amends for Nazi injustice.