How the Anatomische Gesellschaft excluded unwanted members after 1945-among them Eugen Fischer and Max Clara.

Item request has been placed! ×
Item request cannot be made. ×
loading   Processing Request
Read More Add to Saved list
  • Author(s): Winkelmann A;Winkelmann A
  • Source:
    Annals of anatomy = Anatomischer Anzeiger : official organ of the Anatomische Gesellschaft [Ann Anat] 2017 Jan; Vol. 209, pp. 25-36. Date of Electronic Publication: 2016 Oct 20.
  • Publication Type:
    Historical Article; Journal Article
  • Language:
    English
  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: G. Fischer Country of Publication: Germany NLM ID: 100963897 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1618-0402 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 09409602 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Ann Anat Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Original Publication: Jena [Germany] ; New York : G. Fischer, c1992-
    • Subject Terms:
      Committee Membership*; Anatomy/*history ; National Socialism/*history ; Societies, Medical/*history ; Universities/*history ; War Crimes/*history; Germany ; History, 20th Century ; World War II
    • Abstract:
      The Anatomische Gesellschaft, an international Germany-based association of anatomists, was closed down in 1945, after the end of the "Third Reich". It was eventually re-founded in 1949, continuing its tradition from its foundation in 1886, based in large part on the membership prior to 1945. Newly available archival material reveals, however, that at least six members were explicitly prevented from re-joining the society. This includes Max Clara, who was accused of plagiarism and, at least implicitly, of basing his career on Nazi party support. It also includes Eugen Fischer, a leading anthropologist of the Nazi period, who was seen to be indirectly responsible for Nazi crimes like forced sterilisation or extermination of "anthropologically defined" groups of people. Therefore, Fischer's honorary membership, which had already been published in the membership directory, was revoked after a heated internal debate. Nevertheless, these exclusions cannot be interpreted as a self-directed "denazification" of the Anatomische Gesellschaft, as political activity in line with the Nazis was not the main criterion for these exclusions. Incidentally, the archival sources also reveal that Wolfgang Bargmann, who had been elected as the first post-war secretary of the Gesellschaft in 1949, resigned from this post after only one year in office because his management of this "Fischer affair" was felt to be too autocratic.
      (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: Anatomische Gesellschaft; Anthropology; Denazification; Eugen Fischer; Max Clara; Wolfgang Bargmann
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20161106 Date Completed: 20170208 Latest Revision: 20201017
    • Publication Date:
      20240829
    • Accession Number:
      10.1016/j.aanat.2016.08.005
    • Accession Number:
      27773773