Persecutee in the Third Reich, full professor in the GDR: The communist physician Carl Coutelle (1908-1993) and his post-war career as pathologist.

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  • Author(s): Biermanns N;Biermanns N; Groß D; Groß D
  • Source:
    Pathology, research and practice [Pathol Res Pract] 2023 Jun; Vol. 246, pp. 154487. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Apr 26.
  • Publication Type:
    Historical Article; Journal Article
  • Language:
    English
  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Gustav Fischer Verlag Country of Publication: Germany NLM ID: 7806109 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1618-0631 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 03440338 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Pathol Res Pract Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Publication: Stuttgart : Gustav Fischer Verlag
      Original Publication: Stuttgart, New York, Fischer.
    • Subject Terms:
      Pathologists*/history ; National Socialism*/history; Humans ; History, 20th Century ; Occupations ; Germany
    • Abstract:
      As an avowed communist, Carl Coutelle was one of the few (future) pathologists persecuted for purely political reasons in the Third Reich. Despite this peculiarity, his life has received little attention. The present article takes the existing research desideratum as an opportunity to elaborate on Coutelle's fate during the Nazi era, but also on his academic rise to the position of full professor at the University of Halle (GDR). The analysis is based on extensive files from various German archives. The article pursues a twofold question: On the one hand, it seems necessary to clarify how Coutelle's life between 1933 and 1945 can be characterized and classified, and on the other hand, it is of interest whether he owed his career in the GDR primarily to scientific merit or to state support. It can be shown that Coutelle's career path reflects the prevailing political power relations: With the beginning of the Third Reich, Coutelle was completely disenfranchised because of his political views; he was forced to emigrate, interrupted his nascent scientific career, and became actively involved in the international anti-fascist resistance. After the war, Coutelle became one of the protagonists of the socialist transformation and denazification of the health care system in the Soviet Occupation Zone. Now his career took the opposite course: Although his research performance was below average compared to other pathologists from the GDR, the avowed communist was appointed full professor - due to state intervention and against the declared will of the faculty in Halle.
      Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
      (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)
    • Comments:
      Comment in: Pathol Res Pract. 2023 Aug;248:154713. (PMID: 37506628)
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: Antifascism; Denazification; German Democratic Republic (GDR); Nazism; Remigration; Science policy and politics
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20230501 Date Completed: 20230525 Latest Revision: 20230821
    • Publication Date:
      20231215
    • Accession Number:
      10.1016/j.prp.2023.154487
    • Accession Number:
      37126931