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Scandinavian Neuroscience during the Nazi Era

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2014

Daniel Kondziella ,
Klaus Hansen  and
Lawrence A. Zeidman
Daniel Kondziella*
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark
Klaus Hansen
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark
Lawrence A. Zeidman
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation, Neuropsychiatric Institute, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
*
Department of Neurology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Blegdamsvej 9; DK-2100 Copenhagen. Email: daniel_kondziella@yahoo.com
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Abstract

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Although Scandinavian neuroscience has a proud history, its status during the Nazi era has been overlooked. In fact, prominent neuroscientists in German-occupied Denmark and Norway, as well as in neutral Sweden, were directly affected. Mogens Fog, Poul Thygesen (Denmark) and Haakon Sæthre (Norway) were resistance fighters, tortured by the Gestapo: Thygesen was imprisoned in concentration camps and Sæthre executed. Jan Jansen (Norway), another neuroscientist resistor, escaped to Sweden, returning under disguise to continue fighting. Fritz Buchthal (Denmark) was one of almost 8000 Jews escaping deportation by fleeing from Copenhagen to Sweden. In contrast, Carl Værnet (Denmark) became a collaborator, conducting inhuman experiments in Buchenwald concentration camp, and Herman Lundborg (Sweden) and Thorleif Østrem (Norway) advanced racial hygiene in order to maintain the “superior genetic pool of the Nordic race.” Compared to other Nazi-occupied countries, there was a high ratio of resistance fighters to collaborators and victims among the neuroscientists in Scandinavia.

Résumé:

Résumé:

Bien que l'histoire éminente des neurosciences en Scandinavie soit reconnue à juste titre, son statut pendant la période nazie a été passé sous silence. En fait, des neuroscientifiques éminents au Danemark et en Norvège, deux pays occupés par les nazis, ainsi qu'en Suède, un pays neutre, ont été directement touchés. Mogens Fog, Poul Thygesen (Danemark) et Haakon Saethre (Norvège) étaient des combattants de la résistance qui ont été torturés par la Gestapo, Thygesen a été emprisonné dans des camps de concentration et Saethre a été exécuté. Jan Jansen (Norvège), un autre neuroscientifique résistant, a fui en Suède et il est retourné dans son pays sous déguisement pour continuer de combattre. Fritz Buchthal (Danemark) était parmi environ 8000 Juifs qui ont échappé à la déportation en fuyant Copenhague pour se réfugier en Suède. Par contre, Carl Vaernet (Danemark) est devenu collaborateur et il a réalisé des expériences inhumaines au camp de concentration de Buchenwald, et Herman Lundborg (Suède) et Thorleif Østrem (Norvège) ont fait la promotion de l'hygiène raciale pour maintenir le « pool génétique supérieur de la race nordique ». Si l'on compare la Scandinavie aux autres pays occupés par les nazis, il y a eu un taux élevé de combattants de la résistance par rapport aux collaborateurs et les victimes chez les neuroscientifiques.

Type
Review Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences , Volume 40 , Issue 4 , July 2013 , pp. 493 - 503
Copyright
Copyright © The Canadian Journal of Neurological 2013

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