Medical Science Under Dictatorship [Paperback]

Leo Alexander (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1996

How could the Nazis and their perverse beliefs dominate most of Europe and perpetrate the Holocaust? Dr. Leo Alexander, M.D., the chief American medical consultant at the Nuremberg war crimes trials, answers this troubling question in a work described by Dr. C. Everett Koop as "a remarkable paper."

Dr. Alexander's specific focus is an examination of the process by which the German medical profession became a willing and unquestioning collaborator with the Nazis. In describing the "subtle shift in attitude" that led to the horrors of the concentration camps. Dr. Alexander demonstrates how "from small beginning" the values of an entire society were perverted. Moreover, he shows the consequences of disbelief in the sancitity of human life and the paramount importance of morality in politics.

In the words of Malcolm Muggeridge, "no one could have put the matter more cogently and authoritatively than has Dr. Leo Alexander." It is therefore appropriate that this s! tudy, originally addressed to the U.S. medical profession in the July 14, 1949 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, is now available to the public at large.

Editorial Reviews

Review

(This) study by the chief medical consultant at the Nuremberg war crimes trials looks at troubling questions surrounding the Holocaust, including euthanasia and eugenics. . . Originally presented in 1949, (it) is particularly relevant in this age of doctor-assisted suicide. -- Able: The Newspaper of the Differently Abled, Janaury 1998

Dr. Alexander was forced by the facts to change the focus of his research to an examination of the process by which the German medical profession came under the total domination of Hitler's government . . . In this remarkable study, "Medical Science Under Dictatorship," Dr. Alexander describes how the German medical profession, in the words of Malcolm Muggeridge, "sleepwalked to the collectivist-authoritarian way of life." -- The Freeman, August 1997

It is exciting to meet Dr. Alexander once again, for I first read this in article form in the late fifties while in medical school for our medical ethics class. There are many, many stories . . . worthy of comment: "the brutalization of nursing personnel"; "physicians gradually became the unofficial executioner"; "psychiatrists have lost the respect of the German people forever." -- Social Justice Review, May-June 1997

From the Publisher

This publication has been the subject of in-depth articles in the May/June 1997 issue of Social Justice Review, the August 1997 issue of The Freeman (http://www.fee.org) and the May/June 1998 issue of Medical Sentinel (published by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons).

Product Details

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Bibliographic Pr (December 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0930429036
• ISBN-13: 978-0930429034
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,812,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary treatise on where concept of "utility" logicly goes, May 12, 2011

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Sunny Sage (Bloomington, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Medical Science Under Dictatorship (Paperback)

I read this while doing an internship on euthanasia. It is chilling and prophetic in 2011 as, courtesy of George Soros' Project on Death in America, hospitals, doctors and insurance cos. insist on advance directives. The point is saving health care dollars by having us altruistically agree to not be resuscitated if we "wouldn't know" who we are. The small beginnings Alexander details are again at the forefront, only globally. This is what you get when you have Godless leaders, not just dictators. Can't believe this has been up since 1996 and I'm the first one to comment (2011). Sad, sad, sad.