Customer Reviews: Read 24 more reviews...
 Making sense of the Holocaust December 23, 2007
Herbert Spohn (Topeka, Kansas)
Both by means of a large series of interviews of the German physicians who made the life or death decisions at the Nazi death camps and by means of reviews of post WW II trial records Dr Jay Lifton, an American psychiatrist, has helped us understand their motivation and self deception. In this scholarly, but highly readable undertaking, Dr Lifton reveals and assessess the Nazi ideology that underlay the killing of millions of Jews, mental patients, homosexuals, gypsies and others "undeserving of life." In a preface to the 2002 edition of "The Nazi Doctors" the author identifies recent events of ethnic cleasing as contemporary instances of genocide.
On reading Dr. LIfton's book after viewing two highly revealing and disturbing documentaries on the holocaust: "The Nazi's at Auschwitz" and "Shoa." I sensed myself to be so thoroughly informed about the holocaust as to be able to teach a college course on the subject.
An Enduringly Important Book November 18, 2007
croppyboy98 (new york)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I first read this book almost a decade agao and was prompted to re-read it by the recent spate of articles about the supposed genetic differences among the diffent "races." This book should be required reading for everyone living in the 21st century. It is a cautionary tale of immense importance and lasting significance. If you doubt that science is as capable of being harnessed to the purposes of homocide and evil as religion, economics or any other human endeavor, then read this book. Its message is both chilling and utterly contemporary.
"Physician, Heal Thyself" The Nazi Doctor and the Holocaust May 24, 2005
Harold Y. Grooms (Prattville, AL USA)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
In this detailed and well-researched account, psychologist Robert J. Lifton chronicles the Holocaust from a unique perspective: the role played by Nazi medical doctors. In doing so he explains the Nazi philosophy that formed the basis for mass murder: the necessity to heal the ills of German society by eliminating all its corrupting influences. Healing was and is the raison d'etre for the medical profession. Doctors were thus compelled to become killers in the application of this all encompassing "cure."
Lifton traces the evolution of the Holocaust beginning with the "euthanasia" projects of the 30's. Anyone incapable of being a productive member of society was consided, "life unworthy of life" and euthanized. Initially this was confined to the mentally challenged and the old/infirmed. Later even severely wounded German soldiers were not spared. Execution technology perfected here formed the basis for the mass executions conducted later.
Lifton interviews many physicians in this work including some former Nazi's and many Jewish doctors forced to work at Auschwitz. Here, the inner conflicts of persons trained to heal but actively involved in killing reached its apex. Reactions varied from the cold, view of inmates as "laboratory rats" and nothing more by Josef Mengele, to the tortured acceptance of the necessity of doing his duty of Eduard Wirths. Coping mechanisms included sending others to do the "dirty work" when possible, excessive use of alcohol, and in some cases, suicide. Still, the work went on, despite any internal contradictions.
This is the first work I have seen that explained the Nazi philosophy and its impact on the Holocaust. Because it was the stated goal of National Socialism to cleanse German society of all its ills, the participation of healers was essential. The Nazi's never wavered in this twisted belief. Would the Holocaust have occurred without the doctor's participation? Undoubtedly, yes! However doe's this excuse their participation? You the reader must decide. A great read. Five stars!!
Harold Y. Grooms
In our own time... March 14, 2005
Robert W. Smith (Monroeville, PA United States)
12 out of 20 found this review helpful
This book is relevant to our nation and society in the present time. With the Terry Schiavo case in the forefront of the news, one can only reflect on the position of the courts, and the doctors, in Germany in the 1930's. The book carefully shows the slippery slope which can confront a society that fails to protect the least among us. It is not a book about another place and another time. It is a book about us, in our own time. Strongly recommended that one reads this with open eyes and and open heart to the decisions we make today.
Robert W. Smith, MD, MBA
 Fascinating January 11, 2005
Jack (Australia)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
This is a fascinating look not only at what the Nazi doctors did during the reign of the Third Reich but also how they perceived what they were doing and the legislative precedents that culminated in the general acceptance of medicalised killing by many German doctors.
The book is easy to read. Whilst it is a factual account, it still flows with the continuity of a novel making it hard to put down.
Informative and fascinating. Well worth a read and makes you realise the importance of global medical ethical debate as its absence in pre-war Germany, most certainly contributed to the precedents that allowed legalised genocide.
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