The ideological roots of Nazi eugenics in pathology and its pioneers Martin Staemmler, Ludwig Aschoff, Robert Rössle, and Georg B. Gruber.

This study examines the ideological roots of Nazi eugenics and racial hygiene in the medical field of pathology and its key figures Martin Staemmler (1890-1974), Ludwig Aschoff (1886-1942), Robert Rössle (1876-1956), and Georg B. Gruber (1884-1977). The focus is on their specific approaches to racial hygiene and its legitimization by pathology and its representatives.

Political pragmatist or man of conviction? Heinrich Bredt (1906-1989) and his involvement in the Third Reich.

Heinrich Bredt (1906-1989) has to be considered one of the most prominent German pathologists of the past century. While his scientific oeuvre - especially his research on pathology of the cardiovascular system - received widespread attention, his actual connection to National Socialism remains largely concealed. This paper takes this need for clarification as an occasion for a detailed investigation of Bredt's political role in the Third Reich, based on source material from Federal, State and University Archives.

From emigration to remigration: The Jewish pathologist Fritz Meyer (1875-1953) and his extraordinary life course.

Fritz Meyer (1875-1953) is undoubtedly one of the most enigmatic pathologists and internists of his time: He emerged early as a major researcher in the field of infectious diseases. Later, he also focused on heart and lung diseases and became a celebrity doctor who treated ambassadors and prominent contemporaries of the United States. The course of his life was as unusual as his professional activities: At the beginning of the Third Reich, Meyer experienced far-reaching repression due to his Jewish ancestry, which led to forced emigration to the USA.

Success or failure? Pathologists persecuted under National Socialism and their careers after emigrating to the United States.

This study examines the biographies of pathologists persecuted by the National Socialists after their emigration from the German Reich to the USA. The work is based on primary sources from various archives and a systematic evaluation of secondary literature on the persons concerned. The study yields five central results: (1) Out of 118 identified persecuted pathologists, a total of 91 persons left the German Reich, 60 of them demonstrably to the USA.

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.

Victim or profiteer? Gerhard Domagk (1895-1964) and his relation to National Socialism.

As the discoverer of sulfonamides and Nobel Prize winner for medicine, Gerhard Domagk (1895-1964) is without doubt one of the most important pathologists of the 20th century. Domagk has repeatedly been sketched out as a Nazi victim - especially with reference to the fact that he had been briefly imprisoned and that the Nazi regime prevented him from accepting the Nobel Prize. In particular, the life memoirs of Domagk (1995), edited by Bayer, and a Domagk biography by Ekkehard Grundmann (2001) contributed to consolidating the dictum that Domagk was far from Nazi ideology.

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

Between fiction and reality: Herwig Hamperl (1899-1976) and the Third Reich as reflected in his autobiography.

Herwig Hamperl is undoubtedly one of the most influential and prominent representatives of German pathology in the 20th century. Interestingly, he left behind an autobiography (1972) which provides information not only about pathology in the Third Reich and in post-war Germany, but above all about his own life and work. His memoirs primarily served the purpose of recording his life's work for posterity and of retaining it in collective memory.

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.