Rationalising Evil? The ethical considerations of using Nazi data in medical publications after World War Two Faculty of Arts History Radboud University Year of Study: 2016-2017 15th June 2017 Dr. R. Ensel Hannah Jacobi S4469291 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 2 CHAPTER 1– END OF AN UNETHICAL ERA? ................................................................................................ 8 THE NUREMBERG TRIAL ........................................................................................................................................ 8 THE DOCTORS’ TRIAL AND ETHICAL SCIENCE ........................................................................................................ 11 STANCES TAKEN AT THE NUREMBERG TRIAL.......................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 2 – STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS? ................................................................... 17 THE USE OF NAZI DATA IN SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE ................................................................................................. 17 WHY HAVE SCIENTISTS REFRAINED FROM THIS DISCUSSION FOR SO LONG? ................................................................ 20 DISCONTINUITY ................................................................................................................................................... 22 CHAPTER 3 - TO BE OR NOT TO BE… USED? ............................................................................................. 27 IN FAVOUR OF USING NAZI DATA ........................................................................................................................... 27 OPPOSED TO USING THE NAZI DATA ...................................................................................................................... 30 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................ 34 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................................ 36 APPENDIX .................................................................................................................................................... 42 1 Introduction “Each day I was submerged in hot water. Whenever I tried to put my head out of the water in order to breathe I was forced back into the water by Dr. Josef Mengele’s stick. He was enjoying himself. This lasted for 10 minutes. I was immediately afterwards put into cold water and the same procedure was repeated.”1 Mentioning human medical experimentation, one quickly thinks about the ‘Angel of Death’ Josef Mengele, i.e. the infamous Auschwitz doctor. This would be my initial thesis topic, namely medical science with a focus on Josef Mengele. However, after researching this topic I came to two conclusions namely that the topic of Josef Mengele had been researched extensively and secondly, that a historical discourse of the ethics of using the created data was not -researched extensively. This would thus be my topic: history of medicine, more specifically a historical discourse on how scientists viewed the ethics of using Nazi data. The period that will be researched ranges from 1946 until 2004.2 Investigating the scientific literature on the ethics of using Nazi data is a continuing concern within the field of medicine and in the field of history as will be argued below. The aforementioned quote originates from ‘Ms. G.’, a woman who wishes to share her experience of the Nazi-experiments, however considering the severe nature of her story, she prefers to remain anonymous. Her recollection gives us a unique insight into the crimes against humanity that were performed by the Nazis. The Nazi experiments and its results remain controversial. This is due to the number of deaths and the nature of the experiments on the one hand and the important information -data without equivalent - that could be derived from these experiments on the other hand. Since World War Two there have been numerous medical publications regarding the use of data derived from the Nazi experiments. One such medical publication is ‘Nazi data and the rights of Jews’, by Stephen G. Post, Professor of Preventive Medicine.3 Post, a medical 1 Claims Conference, ‘Personal Statements From Victims of Nazi Medical Experiments’ <http://www.claimscon.org/about/history/closed-programs/medical-experiments/personal-statements- from-victims/>[consulted on 17-02-2017]. 2 1946 is chosen because this is the year in which the Doctors’ Trial was conducted, 2004 is chosen because this is when the most recent relevant scientific publication on the topic was published. 3 Psychology Today, ‘Stephen G Post Ph.D,’ <https://www.psychologytoday.com/experts/stephen-g-post- phd> [consulted on 17-05-2017]. 2 scientist, gives a good overview of the different stances taken by scientists. 4 As illustrated by Post, many scientists have touched the subject, and while historians have devoted much attention to Nazi science itself, they have largely avoided the controversial subject of post-war use of the Nazi data. This essay provides such an historical approach. Before starting the justification for the historical approach, it is important to know what this historical approach entails. Whereas the scientific approach tends to focus on the ethical discussion -whether the use of the data is morally correct or not- the historical approach focusses on the development and the changing view on the use of Nazi data. This historical approach is also known as history of medicine, a field characterized by its interdisciplinary, boundary crossing, approach.5 The main objective being “to achieve a better understanding of what we have done and what we are doing.”6 A history of medicine sees the work of medical science as a discourse on health, illness, healing and the ethics of the medical profession. Another important aspect of the history of medicine is the significant role of language, meaning, context is just as significant as what is said or written.7 This is paramount when researching the discourse of medicine, or for example, the discourse of Nazi ethics over the years.8 Context is crucial when researching the historical discourse because to understand a historical matter is to understand the circumstances which created this position. For this reason the Nuremberg Trials are discussed, seeing as it provides a context by which the historical discourse can be researched and understood. A work has been written on the subject ‘usage of Nazi data and its ethical implications’ outside the medical field. This study has been written by doctor of Hebrew, Biblical and Jewish Studies, Ross William Halpin. In his master thesis, Halpin examined the usability of Nazi data in contemporary medical research by stating a historical 4 Additional medical publications on the ethics of using Nazi experiments: Robert L. Berger, ‘Ethics in scientific communication: study of a problem case’, Journal of Medical Ethics 20 (1994), 207-211; Henry K. Beecher, ‘Ethics and Clinical Research’, The New England Journal of Medicine 274:24 (1966), 367-372; Arthur L. Caplan (Ed.), When Medicine Went Mad (Minnesota, 1992); Kristine Moe, ‘Should the Nazi Research Data Be Cited?’ The Hastings Center Report 14:6 (1984), 5-7; William E. Seidelman, ‘Mengele Medicus: Medicine’s Nazi Heritage’, The Milibank Quarterly 66:2 (1988), 221-239; David Bogod, ‘The Nazi Hypothermia Experiments: Forbidden Data?’, Anaesthesia 59:12 (2004), 1155-1156. 5 Gert H. Brieger, ‘Bodies and Borders: A New Cultural History of Medicine’, Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 47:3 (2004), 402-421, here 405. 6 Gert H. Brieger, ‘Bodies and Borders’, here 402. 7 Ibid, 406. 8 Ibid, 407. 3 background on the matter.9 Green’s method however greatly differs from the proposed approach of this thesis, seeing as Green claims to use a historical approach, however he defers from this approach by giving a value judgement on the ethics of using Nazi data. Green concludes that the science was invalid due to its unreliability, to ultimately conclude that there is no ethical dilemma and the data should thus not be used. Therefore he states his opinion -whether to use the data or not- within the ethical discussion, rather than focussing on the development of the changing view.10 Furthermore, Greene examines the usability of the Nazi data in contemporary research, whereas I will focus on the view of scientists on the usability of Nazi data. Lastly, Green originates from a religious -Hebrew, Biblical and Jewish- discipline which could have affected his research seeing as his discipline is affiliated with the religious group most affected by the Nazis, which then again could have created a bias. The scarcity of comprehensive histories on this topic can be explained through the Nuremberg trial, which started in 1945 and ended in 1949.11 The trial was a juridical process focussed on the apprehension of various important Nazi perpetrators. This trial was not a fixed legal procedure, in other words it changed through time, as will be discussed more extensively in chapter one. The main question during the trials remained the same -who should be tried- however the answer to this question changed without a closing answer in 1945. This lack of a definite