Nazi Science: Human Experimentation vs. Human RightsPSYC 2000Professor: Dr. Linda M. WoolfOffice Hours:
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Texts:
- Selected readings to be provided or placed on Canvas/WorldClassRoom - each noted below.
Course Description:
Experiments conducted on human prisoners in Nazi concentration camps were in fact brutal crimes committed under the guise of Nazi medicine. In addition, Nazi science and medicine played a pivotal role in the perpetration of genocide. During this course, we will examine the role of Nazi science in genocide and human experimentation. For example:- The Nazi euthanasia project
- Mengele's twin studies at Auschwitz
- Nazi sterilization experiments
- Dachau hypothermia and high altitude experiments
- Buchenwald biological warfare experiments
- Nazi medicine's role in genocide
These atrocities will be evaluated within the context of necessary fundamental human rights using the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1947 Nuremberg Code, the Declarations of Helsinki, the American Psychological Association's Ethical Principles in the Conduct of Research With Human Participants, and other documents pertaining to human rights and human experimentation. We will also examine:
- The hiring of Nazi scientists by the United States following the war based on their wartime research
- Other human rights violations in the name of science both abroad (e.g., Japanese medical wartime experiments) and in the U.S. (for example, the Tuskegee Studies)
- Ethical questions concerning the use of unethically obtained data and human specimens
Course Objectives and Outcomes:
- Objective: To examine the concept of human rights and understand these rights as outlined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- Objective: To become familiar with the essential features of the Nuremberg Code, the Declarations of Helsinki, APA Ethics Code, and other documents as they relate to human rights and research.
- Objectives: To examine the healing-to-killing road of Nazi medicine, from theories of racial hygiene to euthanasia and sterilization to the Holocaust.
- Objective: To examine the various experiments conducted within the concentration camps using prisoners as subjects.
- Objectives: To examine the fundamental process by which these experiments violated basic human rights using the Nuremberg Code, the Declarations of Helsinki, and other documents as references.
- Objective: To examine other abuses of human experimentation that occurred during and after World War II.
- Objective: To address the issue of the use of data or specimens obtained unethically for research and writing today. In other words, should we use Nazi data as source material or human specimens preserved from Nazi science in research?
Class Meetings:
The class will meet on Wednesdays from 5:30 - 9:30. Attendance is strongly recommended as class discussion will greatly enhance your understanding of the material presented in this class. Also, material will be presented that is not in any of the books.
This course will be challenging for several reasons. First, it entails a fair amount of reading in a short period of time (note: many of the readings are very short). If this is to be a good class, it is essential for everyone to do the reading, come to class, and be prepared to participate in the discussion. Second, this course is difficult because of its almost unrelieved concentration on human suffering and extreme, deliberately inflicted cruelty; the information presented in this class is difficult to read and difficult to discuss. There will be opportunities for class members to discuss thoughts and feelings that arise during the course.
Course Requirements:
Two exams, a team presentation, and class participation/discussion.All grades will be assigned on a scale of 0 - 10 with:
| 90 - 100 | A-,A | Excellent |
| 80 - 89 | B-,B,B+ | Above Average |
| 70 - 79 | C-,C,C+ | Average |
| 60 - 69 | D-,D,D+ | Below Average |
| Less than 60 | F | Failing |
Percent of Grade:
Examinations 70% Team Presentation 20% Class Participation/Discussion 10%
Examinations: The exams are designed to test for an understanding of the terms, theories, ideas, and historical events related to Nazi science and human rights as presented in text, readings, lecture, and discussion. The exams will include multiple choice, matching, short answer, and essay. Exams will be worth 70 percent of your final grade.
Team Presentation: Teams and topics will be assigned the second week of class. Each team will present on an instance of Nazi experimentation in the camps (i.e., a PPT presentation and lead a discussion) and will last approximately 30 - 45 minutes. Presentations will be work 20% of your final grade.
Class Participation/Discussion: Your participation in this class with discussion and questions is not only important but valued. As such, it constitutes 10% of your final grade.
Policy Statements:
Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact me or the Director of the Academic Resource Center, as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations can be implemented in a timely fashion.
Use of Electronic Devices in the Classroom: Please respect others in the class by turning off all cell phones and pagers before entering the room. Text messaging during class is not acceptable. Laptops may be used in class but are only to be utilized for class related activities (e.g., taking notes). If it becomes apparent you are using the computer for non-class activities (e.g., checking your email, playing games) then you may be asked to turn off your computer and refrain from bringing it into class in the future. Laptop use is restricted to the back or sides of the classroom so that other students are not distracted during lecture.
Plagiarism (attempting to pass off the work of another as one's own) is not acceptable. Plagiarism includes copying all or part of another's writings (even a single sentence), inappropriate paraphrasing, using another student's paper as your own, submitting a paper for more than one class. All papers will be submitted to the university's plagiarism database for review. Plagiarism, either intentional or unintentional, will result in a grade of 0 for that assignment and will be turned over to the appropriate university source for disciplinary action. In addition, cheating on exams will also result in the same fate.
Here are some Web sites that will help you avoid the problem of plagiarism particularly plagiarism resulting from paraphrasing too closely to the original source. -
- Establishing Authorship by Paul C. Smith, Alverno College
- How to Avoid Plagiarism Tutorial
- The University of Indiana's Online Plagiarism Tutorial - You can print out a certificate of completion!
It should be noted that, as is common in many university courses, little time will be spent lecturing on topics adequately addressed by the text. Students are expected to arrive at class meetings having already read the material assigned, and to ask questions to clarify any areas that remain unclear. While every attempt will be made to explain or expand upon particularly difficult areas, the primary purpose of classroom lecture is to enhance, rather than to duplicate, the textbook material.
Late withdraws from this class will not be approved by the instructor except in cases of emergency discussed with the instructor. No late withdraws will be approved on the basis of poor class performance.
This syllabus is subject to change at the instructor's discretion. All changes concerning course requirements will be provided in writing. Changes concerning exam dates may be made at the instructor's discretion and communicated verbally to the class.
It is understood that remaining in this course (not dropping or withdrawing from this course) constitutes an agreement to abide by the terms outlined in this syllabus and an acceptance of the requirements outlined in this document. No grade of Incomplete will be issued for this course.
COURSE OUTLINE | |||
Date | Topic & Readings | ||
| June | 7 | Introduction to class What are Human Rights? What is the Relationship between Human Rights and Human Experimentation? Laying the Groundwork: The Holocaust Readings: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Optional reading: Psychosocial Roots of Genocide by Woolf & Hulsizer | |
| June | 14 (Discuss Online) | Introduction to the Holocaust View either: Survivors of the Holocaust (on Reserve in the Library for viewing at the library) or Holocaust: In Memory of Millions (on Reserve in the library for viewing at the library) or The Last Days (Video on Canvas) or visit the St. Louis Holocaust Museum (Directions to the Museum available with hours (note closed on Saturday) at http://hmlc.org/). Discuss your thoughts about the films/visit on Canvas. Ask any questions you may have and I'll answer as best as possible. We will also discuss this material next week. Note that the versions of the films on YouTube are NOT copies of these films but shortened with added, unverified commentary or edited by Holocaust deniers. Do not watch these versions.
Readings: Introduction to the Holocaust at United States Holocaust Memorial and Museum website The Relevance of the Holocaust to Current Bio-Medical Issues by Arthur Caplan in Michalczyk (Ed.) Medicine, ethics, and the Third Reich: Historical and Contemporary Issues
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| June | 21 | Nazi Medicine: From Racial Hygiene Theories to Euthanasia and Sterilization Readings: The Healing-Killing Paradox by Peter Haas in Michalczyk (Ed.) Medicine, ethics, and the Third Reich: Historical and Contemporary Issues Human Genetics in Nazi Germany by Benno Muller-Hill in Michalczyk (Ed.) Medicine, ethics, and the Third Reich: Historical and Contemporary Issues Racial Hygiene: The Collaboration of Medicine and Nazism by Robert Proctor in Michalczyk (Ed.) Medicine, ethics, and the Third Reich: Historical and Contemporary Issues Nazi Doctors, German Medicine, and Historical Truth by Christian Pross in The Nazi Doctors and the Nuremberg Code edited by G. Annas and M. Grodin Sterilization, Euthanasia, and the Holocaust - The Brutal Chain by Daniel Nadav in Michalczyk (Ed.) Medicine, ethics, and the Third Reich: Historical and Contemporary Issues The Destruction of "Lives Not Worth Living" by Robert Proctor in Racial Hygiene: Medicine under the Nazis by R. Proctor
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| June | 28 | Exam I Nazi Medicine's Role in Human Experimentation: Dachau Readings: Nazi Science - The Dachau Hypthermia Experiments by Robert Berger in Michalczyk (Ed.) Medicine, ethics, and the Third Reich: Historical and Contemporary Issues Malaria Experiments in Dachau by Helmut Ableiter in The Buchenwald Report edited by D. Hackett Dachau High Altitude Medical Experiments from the Nizkor Project | |
| July | 5 | Nazi Medicine's Role in Human Experimentation: Auchwitz, Buchenwald, Ravensbruck Readings: Nazi Doctors by Robert Jay Lifton and Amy Hackett in Anatomy of the Auschwitz Death Camp edited by Y. Gutman and M. Berenbaum The Crimes of Josef Mengele by Helena Kubica in Anatomy of the Auschwitz Death Camp edited by Y. Gutman and M. Berenbaum The Personal, Public, and Political Dimensions of Being a Mengele Guinea Pig by Eva Kor in Michalczyk (Ed.) Medicine, ethics, and the Third Reich: Historical and Contemporary Issues Selected Readings from The Buchenwald Report edited by D. Hackett The Stations of the Cross by Vera Laska in Michalczyk (Ed.) Medicine, ethics, and the Third Reich: Historical and Contemporary Issues | |
| July | 12 (Discuss Online) | Were the Nazis alone in atrocity? View: Miss Ever's Boys (Available on Canvas) and Unit 731 (Available on Canvas) Readings: Concentration Camp Experiments: Their Relevance for Contemporary Research with Human Beings by Jay Katz in Michalczyk (Ed.) Medicine, ethics, and the Third Reich: Historical and Contemporary Issues Human Experiments: "Secret of Secrets" in Factories of Death: Japanese Biological Warfare, 1932-45, and the American Cover-up by S. Harris | |
| July | 19 | Were the Nazis alone continued Readings: The Ethics of Using Scientific Data Obtained by Immoral Means by F. Rosner, et. al. in The New York State Journal of Medicine, 91, 54-59. Should the Nazi Research Data be Cited? by Kristine Moe in The Hasting Center Report, December 1984, 5-7. | |
| July | 26 | Conclusions Readings: Lessons We Have Learned by Lisa Sowle Cahill in METR FINAL EXAM | |
| Optional Readings | The Nuremberg Code: An International Overview by Sharon Perley, Sev Fluss, Zbigniew Bankowski, and Francoise Simon in The Nazi Doctors and the Nuremberg Code edited by G. Annas and M. Grodin The Nuremberg Principles in International Law by Robert Drinan in The Nazi Doctors and the Nuremberg Code edited by G. Annas and M. Grodin The Changing Landscape of Human Experimentation: Nuremberg, Helsinki, and Beyond by George Annas in Michalczyk (Ed.) Medicine, ethics, and the Third Reich: Historical and Contemporary Issues Historical Origins of the Nuremberg Code by Michael Grodin in Michalczyk (Ed.) Medicine, ethics, and the Third Reich: Historical and Contemporary Issues Relevance of Nazi Medical Behavior to the Health Profession Today by Michael Franzblau in Michalczyk (Ed.) Medicine, ethics, and the Third Reich: Historical and Contemporary Issues Medicine and Human Rights: A Proposal for International Action by Michael Grodin, George Annas, and Leonard Glantz in Michalczyk (Ed.) Medicine, ethics, and the Third Reich: Historical and Contemporary Issues | ||
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