Max Clara: Sweet life in Istanbul with a bitter end 1950–1966 and the search for unethically obtained tissue specimens from his estate in Turkish collections

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the last period of Max Clara’s (1899–1966) life in Istanbul (1950–1966) and his scientific activities there. Clara’s career before and during the National Socialist (NS) era was extensively studied, however, almost no information is available regarding his late years and his relationship with old colleagues and the academic world after he was dismissed from the academic life in the postwar period. Max Clara’s life in Istanbul was based on primary sources from the Istanbul University Archive. Archival documents were supplemented by analyses of the available secondary literature on the history of Istanbul University and refugee scholars in Turkey, literature on Clara, and Clara’s publications. Furthermore, an attempt was made to find Clara’s histological and anatomical material that he brought with him from Germany, so that the identities of the NS era victims from whom the material were harvested could potentially be reached. Max Clara’s life, academic work, and his relations with the outside world during his Istanbul years were clearly and extensively brought into light. However, his histological and anatomical material which was divided into three parts could not be reached due to the reluctance of universities and faculty members who are the new owners of the material. Clara’s involvement of unethical practices during the NS era such as medical experiments on prisoners and use of the unethically procured bodies of the executed was further revealed. The analysis of his academic publications revealed that there are great inconsistencies and distortions in themselves and that these publications are not as important as it was thought. Finally, the author considers that international pressure is needed, as in the case of the Pernkopf Atlas, to reach the anatomical and histological material and honor and memorialize the victims.