The Toronto Pernkopf Symposium - Presentation Videos
Seidelman W, Hildebrandt S, Mackinnon S, Polak J, Berger P, Agur A & Lax L. (coordinator), The Vienna Protocol: Medicine’s Confrontation with Continuing Legacies of its Nazi Past. Holocaust Education Week Symposium, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, Nov. 10, 2019.
We gratefully acknowledge the sponsors of this symposium including the Biomedical Communications, Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto & the Neuberger Centre for Holocaust Education. https://www.holocaustcentre.com/hew-2019/the-vienna-protocol
Contact: Prof. Leila Lax l.lax@utoronto.ca
THE VIENNA PROTOCOL: Medicine's Confrontation with Continuing Legacies of its Nazi Past
The Pernkopf Atlas of Human Anatomy represents a legacy from Nazi anatomy, as it includes anatomical illustrations from Nazi victims. Nevertheless, its accuracy in specific areas of anatomy still makes it a valued resource in surgery and medical visualization. The Vienna Protocol is a new halachic responsum on the question of what to do with newly discovered remains from Nazi victims and their data, and can provide guidance in the ethical reasoning on whether to use the Pernkopf atlas. This symposium reviews the history, ongoing ethical dilemmas, and proposes ways to honour the unknown victims.
Symposium Introduction
Prof. Leila Lax, Symposium Coordinator, Biomedical Communications, Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
1. Before and After I Knew: Respect, Gratitude, and Solemnity
Prof. Susan Mackinnon MD. Sydney M., Jr. and Robert H. Shoenberg Professor & Chief, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
2. The Vienna Protocol and Reflections on Nazi Medicine: Murder a la Carte.
Rabbi Joseph Polak. Rosh Dayan, Rabbinical Council of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and New England, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
3. The Role of German Academic Medicine and Science in the Medical Crimes of the Third Reich and the Shoah: The Continuing Legacy.
Prof.(Em) William Seidelman MD. Dept. of Family and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (pre-recorded video in Israel)
4. Anatomy in Nazi Germany: The Use of Victims’ Bodies in Academia and Present-Day Legacies.
Prof. Sabine Hildebrandt MD. Harvard Medical School, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Commentaries by University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty
5. Perspective of an Academic Physician: Canadian physicians’ breach of duty to patients and communities from the acquisition of Indigenous skulls in the 19th century to the abandonment of people with AIDS in the 20th century
Prof. Philip Berger MD, Dept. of Family & Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
6. Perspective of an Anatomist: Anatomical detail and accuracy of the Pernkopf Atlas and examples of clinical impact
Prof. Anne Agur PhD, Acting Chair, Division of Anatomy, Dept. of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
7. Perspective of a Medical Artist: Toward informed use of the Pernkopf Atlas – information letter, dissemination, and creation of a permanent archive & exhibit of the original anatomical illustrations; Symposium conclusion
Prof. Leila Lax PhD, Biomedical Communications,Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
8. Video of all Pernkopf Symposium Presentations (2:55 hours)
Recommended Citation
Presenter, Presentation title, in Seidelman WE, Hildebrandt S, Mackinnon S, Polak JA, Berger P, Agur A, Lax L. The Vienna Protocol: Medicine’s confrontation with continuing legacies of its Nazi past. Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre’s Holocaust Education Week Program, “The Holocaust Then and Now”, Nov. 3-10, 2019; symposium held at University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine, Nov. 10, 2019. https://www.holocaustcentre.com/hew-2019/the-vienna-protocol
SELECTED REFERENCES
Hildebrandt, Sabine “The Vienna Protocol: Medicine’s confrontation with continuing legacies of its Nazi past,” 10. November 2019, Annals of Anatomy (2020), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aanat.2020.151459
Hildebrandt, Sabine. The Anatomy of Murder: Ethical transgressions and anatomical science during the Third Reich. New York, USA: Berghahn Books, 2016. https://berghahnbooks.com/title/HildebrandtAnatomy
Muller Markus, Czech Herwig, Druml Christiane. Commentary: The Medical University of Vienna and the historic legacy of Pernkopf’s atlas. Surgery, published online March, 2019. Access at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surg.2019.02.011 or https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0039606019300996
Pernkopf Eduard. Atlas of topographical and applied human anatomy. 2nd ed. Urban & Schwarzenberg, 1980.
Seidelman William, Elbaum Lilka, Hildebrandt Sabine (Eds.) How to Deal with Holocaust Era Human Remains: Recommendations arising from a special symposium (Yad Vashem, May 2017). Recommendations/Guidelines for the Handling of Future Discoveries of Remains of Human Victims of Nazi Terror. Polak, Rabbi Joseph A. "Vienna Protocol" for when Jewish or Possibly-Jewish Human Remains are Discovered (November 22, 2017). Access at: http://www.bu.edu/jewishstudies/files/2018/06/Final-How-to-Deal-with-Holocaust-Era-Human- Remains.pdf
Yee Andrew, Coombs Demetrius M, Hildebrandt Sabine, Seidelman William, Coert J Henk, Mackinnon Susan E. Nerve surgeons’ assessment of the role of Eduard Pernkopf ’s Atlas of Topographic and Applied Human Anatomy in surgical practice. Neurosurgery, published online May 8, 2018. Access at: https://doi.org/10.1093/neuros/nyy159
Yee Andrew, Zubovic Ema, Yu Jennifer, Ray Shuddhadeb, Hildebrandt Sabine, Seidelman William E, Polak Joseph A, Grodin Michael A, Coert J Henk, Brown Douglas, Kodner Ira J, Mackinnon Susan E. Ethical considerations in the use of Pernkopf’s Atlas of Anatomy: A surgical case study. Surgery. 2019;165:860-7. Access at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surg2018.07.025
Williams, David J. The History of Eduard Pernkopf’s Topographische Anatomie des Menschen. Journal of Biocommunication. 15(2)1988:2-12 Spring https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3047110
BBC News. Interview with Dr. Susan Mackinnon https://www.bbc.com/news/health-49294861