Deadly Medicine In The Holocaust

Improved Essays
The Holocaust and Skewed Minds
The Holocaust and the events that occurred in Nazi Germany are very popular topics of discussion. Today’s society views the actions that occurred during this time to be inhumane and horrific events that should never be repeated or replicated. Therefore, certain aspects of the events are often “played-up,” or exaggerated, while others are ignored resulting in skewed and sometimes naive people. However, the acts of “deadly medicine” that occurred during the Holocaust did cause many questions to rise. Questions such as “can science go too far?” and “what is right and wrong in the world of medicine?” entered the minds of many and would forever change the concept of medical ethics.
“Deadly medicine” in the Holocaust
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The actors involved in the administration of “deadly medicine” believed that their actions were for the overall good of societal health and supported the Nazi’s central goal for humanity, however, the survivors had a much different story to tell and were able to testify against the perpetrators in the Nuremberg trials, also known as the Doctor Trials. The US Holocaust Memorial Museum has an exhibit on two of the testimonies, one from Father Miechalowski and the other from Vladislava Karolewska, provided. In their testimonies, the victims expressed the pain and suffering that they endured during the “cutting edge research” of the doctors who performed the tests. These stories brought forward and continue to bring forward strong emotions and feelings against the acts of “deadly medicine” and eugenics from audiences. Because so many people were against the forced experimentation and medical terrors that occurred in Nazi Germany, the Nuremberg Code was created in order to counter the actions of the doctors from this historical tragedy. As the code states, “The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential,” thus setting the precedent for human research from that point

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