Virchow medallists and honorary members of the German Society of Pathology and their relationship with National Socialism

The present study focuses on the group of pathologists who (1) were appointed honorary members or bearers of the Rudolf Virchow Medal by the German Society for Pathology (DGP) and (2) experienced the Third Reich as a citizen of the Third Reich. In particular, it examines the relationship between those distinguished persons and National Socialism, and, at the same time, the criteria of the professional society when awarding such honors. Specifically, it is important to clarify what role the DGP officials ascribed to the political stance or experience of the candidates in the Nazi dictatorship during the selection process: were there victims of the Nazis among the honorees whose repressive experiences and personal fates were intended to be acknowledged in this way? Of equal interest is the counter-question: were pathologists honored who had made (party) political commitments to National Socialism during the Third Reich?

A total of nine Virchow medallists and three honorary members met the inclusion criteria. None of those affected belonged to the group of pathologists who suffered injustice during the Third Reich or who could be described as victims of the Nazis. On the other hand, four of the nine German Virchow medal winners and one of the three honorary members had joined the National Socialist Party and to some extent other Nazi organisations. Obviously, previous closeness to National Socialism was not a decisive factor in the selection of honorary members and Virchow medallists and, in particular, was not an exclusion criterion.

The aforementioned results correspond to the findings of a parallel study, in which the political past of the German DGP chairmen appointed up to 1986 was examined. This showed that two thirds of them had joined the National Socialist Party during the Third Reich.