Universität zu Köln

Schwanke, Enno and Gross, Dominik (2020). Progressive Entanglements? Activity Profiles, Responsibilities and Interactions of Dentists at Auschwitz. The Example of 2nd SS Dentist Willi Schatz. Med. Hist., 64 (3). S. 374 - 401. CAMBRIDGE: CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS. ISSN 2048-8343

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

The history of dentistry during the Third Reich is still a neglected chapter in medical history; especially with a view to the concentration camps. Beyond the theft of dental gold, we actually know very little about the number of camp dentists or even about their activities and how these changed in particular in the final phase of the war. By using as a case study the biography of Willi Schatz, 2nd SS dentist at Auschwitz from January 1944 till autumn 1944, this paper examines the tasks of SS camp dentists in Auschwitz. It points out to what extent the scope of action of the camp dentists changed under the impression of extraordinary events, and clarifies that using the example of the Ungarn Aktion, in which more than 300 000 deportees were immediately murdered. It illustrates that such situational dynamics were an essential driving force for the expansion of dentals tasks. Despite the fact that Schatz was acquitted during the Frankfurt Auschwitz trial (1963-5) for lack of evidence, we show that dentists were not only part of the selection personnel but also high profiteers of the accelerated extermination actions. It can be demonstrated that participation in the selection process - originally reserved for physicians - offered SS dentists access to further SS networks. The study is based on primary sources supplemented with relevant secondary literature, and combines a biographical with a praxeological approach.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Schwanke, Enno UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Gross, Dominik UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-328347
DOI:	10.1017/mdh.2020.20
Journal or Publication Title:	Med. Hist.
Volume:	64
Number:	3
Page Range:	S. 374 - 401
Date:	2020
Publisher:	CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
Place of Publication:	CAMBRIDGE
ISSN:	2048-8343
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language Health Care Sciences & Services; History & Philosophy Of Science Multiple languages
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/32834