Nazi scientists did cutting-edge science by following funding trail
A large part of the worst criminal activity was not pseudo-science
A deeper look at the role of scientists in Nazi Germany is overturning the conventional view that only a few rotten apples collaborated and that their work was mere pseudo-science anyway. Independent science historians supported by the Max Planck Society (MPS), which administers 80 research institutes in Germany, have studied archives and found how closely many scientists worked with the Nazi regime at the height of its power.
The MPS now believes that a large part of the worst criminal activity was not pseudo-science, but cutting edge work. The government of the time willingly funded basic research without requiring scientists to join the Nazi party. Many scientists tailored their research programs to the regime's policies to get funding and to take advantage of the new resources opened up for them by Nazi conquests. “Most researchers, it turns out, seem to have regarded the regime not as a threat, but as an opportunity for their research ambitions,” says Nature.
Creative commons
Nazi doctors
- Prescribe morning-after pills to young teenagers, say US pediatric group - November 30, 2012
- Bahrain sentences protest docs to prison - November 28, 2012
- Terry Pratchett assisted suicide documentary wins International Emmy - November 27, 2012
More Stories
Media approaches peak cognitive dissonance over the ‘T’ in LGBT Pride month
The media is approaching peak cognitive dissonance in Pride Month over the issue of transgenderism. On the one hand, Glamour...
The Economist: ‘Global fertility has collapsed’
The Economist, the oracle of politicians and economists the world over, has turned bearish on the future of humanity. The...
Croatia plans to import sperm. No one back home wants to donate
Sperm and egg donation has been legal in Croatia since 2012. But no one has donated. The problem seems to...
Australian woman freed after 20 years after new genetic evidence raised ‘reasonable doubt’
An Australian woman who spent 20 years in jail for murdering her four infant children has been pardoned on the...
Is surrogacy a way of combatting ‘compulsory familialism’?
For people on either side of the debate, surrogacy can seem like a black-and-white issue. Opponents stress human dignity; supporters...
The FDA finally approved Elon Musk’s Neuralink chip for human trials. Have all the concerns been addressed?
Since its founding in 2016, Elon Musk’s neurotechnology company Neuralink has had the ambitious mission to build a next-generation brain...