National Socialist German Doctors' League

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National Socialist German Doctors' League (Bund Deutscher Arzt Nationalsozialisten, BDAN) was a professional organization of physicians in Nazi Germany. Founded in 1929, it became an important body for coordinating the healthcare policies of the Third Reich, aligning them with Nazi ideology. The League played a crucial role in implementing eugenics policies, including the T-4 Euthanasia Program, which aimed at the systematic murder of individuals deemed "life unworthy of life" by the Nazi regime.

History

The National Socialist German Doctors' League was established as a part of the broader movement to unify various professional groups under Nazi principles. Its foundation was driven by the belief that the medical profession could play a key role in the Nazi Party's aim of creating a racially pure Volksgemeinschaft (people's community). The League sought to exclude Jews and other groups considered undesirable from the medical profession and to promote the health of the Aryan race through racial hygiene and eugenics.

Role and Activities

The League was instrumental in the racialization of German healthcare and medical science. It advocated for and implemented policies such as the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring, which led to the forced sterilization of hundreds of thousands of individuals. Members of the League were also involved in the selection process for the T-4 Euthanasia Program, which resulted in the murder of tens of thousands of disabled adults and children.

In addition to its involvement in eugenics and euthanasia, the League worked to align medical education and practice with Nazi ideology. It organized training and propaganda activities to indoctrinate healthcare professionals and students in the principles of racial science and to ensure loyalty to the Nazi state.

Impact and Legacy

The actions of the National Socialist German Doctors' League had a profound impact on the medical profession in Germany, both during and after the Nazi era. The involvement of physicians in crimes against humanity challenged the ethical foundations of medicine and led to significant post-war reflections on medical ethics and the role of doctors in society.

After the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, the League was disbanded, and its leaders were tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Nuremberg Doctors' Trial, part of the subsequent Nuremberg Trials, highlighted the extent of medical involvement in Nazi atrocities and led to the development of the Nuremberg Code, a set of ethical guidelines for human experimentation.

See Also

• Nazi eugenics
• Racial hygiene
• T-4 Euthanasia Program
• Nuremberg Doctors' Trial
• Nuremberg Code