Facing the Guilt and Commemorating the Victims: German Radiology and Radiation Oncology During National Socialism

Whereas the scientific community is aware of atrocities committed by medical doctors like Mengele, the specifics of radiology and radiation oncology during National Socialism remain largely unknown. Starting in 2010, the German Radiology Association and the German Association of Radiation Oncology coordinated a national project looking into original archival material. A national committee convened in 2013 to discuss the project's findings, which were also the subject of a symposium at the University of Tuebingen in 2016 on radiology under National Socialism. The project identified approximately 160 radiologists who were victimized because of their Jewish descent, among them Gustav Bucky (known for the Bucky factor in x-ray diagnostics). Radiologists throughout Germany took part in forced sterilizations. The “Schutzstaffel,” commonly known as SS, had a special radiology unit that was established for tuberculosis screening. Radiation was also used for sterilization experiments in the Auschwitz concentration camp with subsequent surgical procedures to enable histological analysis of the irradiated tissue. Reflection on medicine during the Holocaust will be strengthened by specific facts related to the respective medical field. Radiologists were involved in atrocious medical experiments as well as in supporting Nazi policies in Germany. These facts provoke ethical considerations about marginalized patient groups and doctor-patient communication. They also raise questions about “evidence-based” medicine as sole justification for medical procedures. In summary, historical studies will be able to help in the professional identity formation of radiologists gaining awareness to ethical issues of today.