CONSCIENCE AND THE MEDICAL-PROFESSION

The trials of Nazi doctors in Nuremberg 50 years ago were operative in revealing the extent to which medical people were involved in the atr ocities perpetrated by the National Socialists. Yet to an even greater extent than the annihilation of the Jews, the Nazis' euthanasia killi ngs have been hushed up and/or repressed both within the medical frate rnity and the German public mind. Richter recalls those nationally-min ded German doctors who believed that for the German nation to be compl etely sound it was necessary to sacrifice individual health interests, thus abetting the fateful collusion between eugenic and anti-Semitic persuasions. He warns of the danger of forgetting the war of extermina tion waged against the mentally disturbed, but is equally critical of the vague and esoteric nature of today's ongoing debate on bio-ethical issues. The author calls for a greater sense of personal morality and responsibility among the members of the medical profession and passio nately advocates a medical ethic that focusses unwaveringly on the rec iprocity between humanity/inhumanity in the doctor's relationship with himself and in his professional dealings.