Nowadays, Doctors of Infamy is a topic that has captured the attention of many people around the world. With its impact on society and on different aspects of daily life, Doctors of Infamy has become a topic of constant discussion and debate. From its influence on the economy to its role in popular culture, Doctors of Infamy has become relevant in countless contexts. In this article, we will explore various facets of Doctors of Infamy and analyze its impact on different aspects of modern life. From its origin to its evolution over time, Doctors of Infamy continues to be a topic of interest to those seeking to better understand the world around them.
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Doctors of Infamy: The Story of the Nazi Medical Crimes (1947), published in the U.K. as The Death Doctors, is a book by Alexander Mitscherlich and Fred Mielke which begins with a statement on the intention of its publication and includes a documentation of the Doctors' Trial in Nuremberg that was held from 9 December 1946 until 20 August 1947.[1]
Mitscherlich and Mielke were official observers at the Doctor's trial for the West German Chambers of Physicians.[2]
In Germany, the first edition appeared in 1947. It was the interim report of the umbrella organization of doctors' associations in Western Germany who had sent out a commission of six observers to the Nuremberg trials. This commission was headed by young Mitscherlich because none of the established colleagues would have taken on this task in their own name.[3][4] In this initial copy they accused Ferdinand Sauerbruch a top surgeon and Wolfgang Heubner director of the Pharmacological Institute at Berlin University of being accessories to medical crimes as they participated in a conference on the Sulfonamide experiments at Ravensbrück concentration camp, these experiments were extremely cruel and partially fatal. Mitscherlich was then sued by Sauerbruch and Heubner and so this portion of the book was removed from subsequent editions.[2]
The 1949 the final edition was published, ten thousand copies were printed exclusively for the West German Chambers of Physicians, it did not become known to the public. There were no reviews of the book. It let to Mitscherlich quip 'it was as if the book had never been written'. But the World Medical Association received a copy and accepted it as proof that the medical profession in Germany was distancing itself from Nazi Crimes and so allowed Germany to rejoin the WMA.[2]
From 1960 onwards the book was made available in German in a paperback edition. For the 1977 reprint of this edition, Mitscherlich wrote a new preface. The most recent edition is the 18th impression of 2012.