Murderous Medicine . Is an apology enough?
The doctors who tortured concentration camp prisoners to death in their experimental laboratories produced not a single new cure, nor a single important medical discovery from the experiments performed on their human guinea pigs. In Auschwitz alone, 1.5 million Jews, Slavs ,Roma died because of typhus, a preventable disease. Their heinous actions resulted in the modernization of the 2000 year old Hippocratic Oath. The record of the foul deeds of the German doctors needs to be remembered, so its not repeated.
IN MAY 2012 six decades later, the German Medical Association unanimously adopted the Nuremberg Declaration in which they formally apology to the victims and their families for the inexcusable role German medicine played during the Holocaust in the mass murder, sterilization and barbaric medical experiments on Jews and many other groups. They made no excuses. The Declaration also states contrary to popular belief the doctors were not forced to kill and experiment on prisoners but were leaders and enthusiastic Nazi supporters and that outstanding representatives of renowned academic medical and research institutions were involved in carrying out the mass extermination of millions. Furthermore they asked for forgiveness from the living and deceased victims and descendants. We need to be vigilant to ensure this never occurs again.
Is an apology enough?
Naomi Baumslag from speech at CSU, October 17th 2012