In 1945, after the collapse of the Third Reich, Leo Alexander worked as an Allied investigator and exposed murderous medical experiments and other atrocities of the Nazi regime. His 'top secret' mission, meticulously documented in recently discovered diaries, provided the United States with shocking evidence to prosecute 20 German doctors and three administrators for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Nuremberg Doctors' Trial held in 1946-47. The legacy of Nuremberg was profound. In the Nuremberg Code - a landmark in the history of modern medical ethics - the judges laid down for the first time international guidelines for permissible experiments on humans. One of those who helped to formulate this code was Alexander. Ulf Schmidt's discoveries reveal how modern medicine became the subject of greater accountability. He provides powerful insight into the origins of human rights in medical science and into the changing role of international law, ethics and politics. Schmidt argues that Justice at Nuremberg was replaced by a stream of medical suffering during the Cold War but also concludes that the legacy of Nuremberg is more relevant today than ever - that the protection of the lives, dignity and rights of humans is what really matters.
'Finally we have a comprehensive recounting and analysis of one of the most remarkable chapters of World War II and its aftermath: the crimes and trials of the Nazi doctors. With the international tribunal's expert consultant Leo Alexander as the tale's focus, the intrinsically gripping story is rendered even more fascinating through the personality of this complex and flamboyant figure. Ulf Schmidt has crafted a book that is at once sensitive to historical context and unwavering in moral judgment, while drawing from sources never before utilized. Readers will have a hard time putting this book down.' - Jonathan D. Moreno, Kornfeld Professor and Director, Centre for Biomedical Ethics, University of Virginia, USA
'Schmidt has delivered a meticulously researched and beautifully written narrative of one of the most intriguing and colourful physician experts at the Nuremberg Nazi Doctors' Trial. Justice at Nuremberg is part biography and part political, social, and cultural history. It is a vivid and disturbing account of this cornerstone event of modern medical ethics.' - Michael A. Grodin, Professor of Health Law, Bioethics, Human Rights and Psychiatry, Boston University Schools of Public Health and Medicine, USA
'... Justice at Nuremberg is a meticulously researched work that should be required reading for anyone interested in the history of medical ethics, the development of modern research ethics, or the Holocaust.' - Robert Baker, PhD, Director, Center for Bioethics, Graduate College Union University; Chair, History of Medical Ethics Affinity Group, American Society of Bioethics and Humanities, USA
' ... Schmidt has written a disturbing and shocking account of the manner in which Nazi medical experiments were exposed during the Nuremberg Doctors' Trial. The legacy of the Nuremberg Code - a landmark in the history of modern medical ethics - is of interest not only for the light its shed on the process of denazification. This powerfully argued book provides insights into the changing nature of international law and ethics and to contemporary events such truth commissions and attempts at reconciliation between states. As such it will appeal to lawyers, policy makers and historians.' - David Welch, Professor of Modern History and Director of the Centre for the Study of Propaganda at the University of Kent at Canterbury, UK
'... Schmidt has produced a fine book, on one of the darkest chapters of European history.' - Robert N. Proctor, Ferree Professor of the History of Science, Pennsylvania State University, USA
Prologue
The Austrian Jew
The Émigré
The War Crimes Investigator
The Road to Nuremberg
Constructing the Doctors' Trial
The Nuremberg Code
Post-war Medical Ethics
Bibliography
Index
ULF SCHMIDT is a Senior Lecturer in Modern History at the University of Kent, UK. He was previously a Wellcome Trust Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, a Senior Associate Member of St. Antony's College and a Research Associate at the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine at the University of Oxford. He is the author of Medical Films, Ethics and Euthanasia in Nazi Germany (2002).
Description
In 1945, after the collapse of the Third Reich, Leo Alexander worked as an Allied investigator and exposed murderous medical experiments and other atrocities of the Nazi regime. His 'top secret' mission, meticulously documented in recently discovered diaries, provided the United States with shocking evidence to prosecute 20 German doctors and three administrators for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Nuremberg Doctors' Trial held in 1946-47. The legacy of Nuremberg was profound. In the Nuremberg Code - a landmark in the history of modern medical ethics - the judges laid down for the first time international guidelines for permissible experiments on humans. One of those who helped to formulate this code was Alexander. Ulf Schmidt's discoveries reveal how modern medicine became the subject of greater accountability. He provides powerful insight into the origins of human rights in medical science and into the changing role of international law, ethics and politics. Schmidt argues that Justice at Nuremberg was replaced by a stream of medical suffering during the Cold War but also concludes that the legacy of Nuremberg is more relevant today than ever - that the protection of the lives, dignity and rights of humans is what really matters.
Reviews
'Finally we have a comprehensive recounting and analysis of one of the most remarkable chapters of World War II and its aftermath: the crimes and trials of the Nazi doctors. With the international tribunal's expert consultant Leo Alexander as the tale's focus, the intrinsically gripping story is rendered even more fascinating through the personality of this complex and flamboyant figure. Ulf Schmidt has crafted a book that is at once sensitive to historical context and unwavering in moral judgment, while drawing from sources never before utilized. Readers will have a hard time putting this book down.' - Jonathan D. Moreno, Kornfeld Professor and Director, Centre for Biomedical Ethics, University of Virginia, USA
'Schmidt has delivered a meticulously researched and beautifully written narrative of one of the most intriguing and colourful physician experts at the Nuremberg Nazi Doctors' Trial. Justice at Nuremberg is part biography and part political, social, and cultural history. It is a vivid and disturbing account of this cornerstone event of modern medical ethics.' - Michael A. Grodin, Professor of Health Law, Bioethics, Human Rights and Psychiatry, Boston University Schools of Public Health and Medicine, USA
'... Justice at Nuremberg is a meticulously researched work that should be required reading for anyone interested in the history of medical ethics, the development of modern research ethics, or the Holocaust.' - Robert Baker, PhD, Director, Center for Bioethics, Graduate College Union University; Chair, History of Medical Ethics Affinity Group, American Society of Bioethics and Humanities, USA
' ... Schmidt has written a disturbing and shocking account of the manner in which Nazi medical experiments were exposed during the Nuremberg Doctors' Trial. The legacy of the Nuremberg Code - a landmark in the history of modern medical ethics - is of interest not only for the light its shed on the process of denazification. This powerfully argued book provides insights into the changing nature of international law and ethics and to contemporary events such truth commissions and attempts at reconciliation between states. As such it will appeal to lawyers, policy makers and historians.' - David Welch, Professor of Modern History and Director of the Centre for the Study of Propaganda at the University of Kent at Canterbury, UK
'... Schmidt has produced a fine book, on one of the darkest chapters of European history.' - Robert N. Proctor, Ferree Professor of the History of Science, Pennsylvania State University, USA
Contents
Prologue
The Austrian Jew
The Émigré
The War Crimes Investigator
The Road to Nuremberg
Constructing the Doctors' Trial
The Nuremberg Code
Post-war Medical Ethics
Bibliography
Index
Authors
ULF SCHMIDT is a Senior Lecturer in Modern History at the University of Kent, UK. He was previously a Wellcome Trust Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, a Senior Associate Member of St. Antony's College and a Research Associate at the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine at the University of Oxford. He is the author of Medical Films, Ethics and Euthanasia in Nazi Germany (2002).
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