FRI-16 WERNER FORSSMANN – A NOBEL PRIZE WINNER AND HIS POLITICAL ATTITUDE BEFORE AND AFTER 1945

Abstract

You have accessJournal of UrologyHistory of Urology Forum I1 Apr 2015FRI-16 WERNER FORSSMANN – A NOBEL PRIZE WINNER AND HIS POLITICAL ATTITUDE BEFORE AND AFTER 1945 Lisa-Maria Packy, Matthis Krischel, and Dominik Groß Lisa-Maria PackyLisa-Maria Packy More articles by this author , Matthis KrischelMatthis Krischel More articles by this author , and Dominik GroßDominik Groß More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2015.02.2807AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Werner Forssmann (1904-1979) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1956 along with André Frédéric Cournand and Dickinson W. Richards for the development of cardiac catheterization. Forssmann was a surgeon and urologist who in 1929 performed an experiment on himself by inserting a uretic catheter via his antecubital vein into his right ventricular cavity. Despite of being popular as one of the first German Nobel Prize winners after World War II, very little is known about Forssmann as a private and political person. This contribution aims to close this gap with regard to the period of the Nazi regime and early post-war Germany. METHODS Primary and secondary historical sources were screened, evaluated and interpreted in a hermeneutical manner. Among the primary sources are Forssmann's autobiography and previously unpublished documents, including his post-war denazification file as well as letters and files from the Forssmann family archive. RESULTS Werner Forssmann joined the Nazi Party, the SA and the Nazi Doctors' Association in 1932, a year before Adolf Hitler came into power. In his autobiography, Forssmann in passing referred to the political situation and his own political attitude can be read between the lines. Moreover, he expressed his thoughts political attitude in letters he sent to his family between 1939 and 1945 when he served as a medical officer during World War II. After the war, when he was released from an American POW camp, Forssmann had to go through a denazification process. As a result, he was banned from practicing medicine for 3 years. He did not seem to be averse to Hitler's politics and it is fair to say that in some ways, he expressed his approval for the Nazi regime. However, correspondence from the 1960s with Victor Gottheiner (1899-1974), who in 1934 emigrated from Berlin to Palestine, reveals that Forssmann might have changed his attitude towards National Socialism later. CONCLUSIONS Werner Forssmann is well-known as one of the first German Nobel laureates after 1945. His political attitudes during the 1930s and '40s and in the post-war era can be characterized as early agreement and later more critical distance to Nazi ideology. In this respect, Forssmann is typical for a larger segment of German medical doctors during this era. © 2015 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 193Issue 4SApril 2015Page: e587 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2015 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Lisa-Maria Packy More articles by this author Matthis Krischel More articles by this author Dominik Groß More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...