Dead bodies for the anatomical institute in the Third Reich: An investigation at the University of Jena.

During the period of 2004-2005, a group of anatomists and historians investigated the origin of dead bodies received by the anatomical institute of the University of Jena in the Third Reich. Between 1933 and 1945, the institute received the bodies of 203 executed persons, most of whom had been sentenced to death for relatively minor offenses or opposition to National Socialist (NS) regulations. Moreover, the institute received about 200 bodies of possible "euthanasia" victims from nearby nursing homes and mental institutions, and several dozen dead bodies of forced laborers from Eastern Europe. Many of these persons must be considered victims of NS injustice. One of the central questions of the investigation was whether any remains of NS victims were still present in the anatomical collections of the institute. At their own initiative, members of the anatomical institute initiated the investigation after a change of leadership at the institute. The investigation was characterized by (1) a scholarly approach thanks to the participation of expert historians, (2) transparency, including early and full information of the press, (3) documentation and publication of the results at the national and international level, (4) appropriate consequences for the anatomical collections, and (5) commemoration of the victims. This and other recent investigations demonstrate that a new generation of German anatomists has begun to uncover the role of their institutes during the Third Reich, finally overcoming the phase of silence in postwar German anatomy.