The chapters in this volume painfully drive home the point that certainly as far as Germany is concerned; the lessons of the Third Reich have not yet been learned... These significant attempts by younger recruits to the larger medical establishment to change things through eye-opening reflection and analysis; however uncomfortable; need support.―Michael H. Kater; author of Doctors under Hitler; in the foreword.The infamous Nuremberg Doctors' Trials of 1946-47 revealed horrifying crimes ―ranging from grotesque medical experiments on humans to mass murder―committed by physicians and other health care workers in Nazi Germany. But far more common; argue the authors of Cleansing the Fatherland; were the doctors who profited professionally and financially from the killings but were never called to task―and; indeed; were actively shielded by colleagues in postwar German medical organizations. The authors examine the role of German physicians in such infamous operations as the "T 4" euthanasia program (code-named for the Berlin address of its headquarters at Number 4 Tiergartenstrasse). They also reveal details of countless lesser known killings―all ordered by doctors and all in the name of public health. Maladjusted adolescents; the handicapped; foreign laborers too illto work; even German civilians who suffered mental breakdowns after air raids were "selected for treatment." (One physician who persisted in speaking of "killings" was officially reprimanded for his "negative attitude.")The book also includes original documents―never before published in English―that give unique and chilling insight into the everyday workings of Nazi medicine. Among them:• Minutes from a 1940 meeting of the Conference of German Mayors; at which a Nazi official gives the assembled politicians detailed instructions for the secret burial of murdered mental patients.• A pre-Nazi era questionnaire sent by the head of a state mental institution to parents of disabled children. (Sample question: "Would you agree to a painless shortening of your child's life after an expert had determined him incurably imbecilic?" Sample answer: "Yes; but I would prefer not to know.") • The diary of Dr. Hermann Voss; chief anatomist at the Reichs University of Posen (and later a highly respected physician in postwar Germany); who delights in the flowers blooming outside his window and worries that the overstock of Polish cadavers from his Gestapo suppliers might cause his crematory oven to break down.• Letters of Dr. Friedrich Mennecke; director of the notorious Eichberg Clinic; who writes with cloying sentimentality to the wife he calls "mommy" and comments offhandedly about visiting concentration camps to select "patients" for death. Today; as reports of mass death in Europe are once again cast in terms of public hygiene; and as euthanasia is advocated―even applauded―on U.S. television; the relevance of what Michael H.Kater here calls "the lessons of the Third Reich" is perhaps greater than ever. Against this background; Cleansing the Fatherland sends a stark message that is difficult to ignore.
#388830 in Books James Buchanan Given 2001-12-06Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x .62 x 5.98l; .81 #File Name: 0801487595256 pagesInquisition and Medieval Society Power Discipline and Resistance in Languedoc
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Excellent study of inquisitionBy LARA1407I have used James Given's book not only in my own books and articles but also for most of my courses on Church history for several reasons. It is highly readable; but also makes many important points often ignored in the more'popular'books on the Inquisition. He demonstrates the frequent antagonism that existed between Franciscans and Dominicans that people in southwestern France accused of heresy were able to manipulate. He also portrays 'victims' of the Inquisition as often far from helpless; with specific ways that they managed to evade their questioners. While some of these included physical evasion; he very helpfully shows that although the Inquisition had noted 10 ways 'heretics' typically got around the questions first noted by Nicholas Eymerich (e.g. equivocation; adding conditions; redirecting the question; feigned atonishment; twisting words; changing the subject; self-justification; feigned illness; feigned stupidity and a way of life that was apparently holy); were frequently used by those questioned.Given provides excellent examples of all such methods but shows the collective and individual resilience of communities faced with the Inquisition. In case studies; he also shows families divided by adherence to Catharism or Catholicism.This is one of the most valuable studies on the Inquisition; especially before the more famous Spanish Inquisition. It corrects many popular misconceptions.0 of 8 people found the following review helpful. To wordyBy RavenThe book was much to wordy ; I dont think it got to the point of the Inquistion fast enough.11 of 12 people found the following review helpful. Readable explanation of Southern French InquisitionBy Lisa J. SteeleGiven's book discusses the papal inquisition in southern France through the lens of the inqusitors' methods and goals; attempts by others to turn the inquisition against their foes; and resistance to it by various political and religious factions.It is a good discussion not just of the papal inquisition; but of how medieval powers battled amongst each other for money and power to carry out their competing goals.A grounding in medieval French history (or at least the Albigensian Crusade) would be helpful to the reader. This book is not a good starting point for the topic. Readers might also wish to compare it with modern research into issues of false confession such as Gudjonsson's The Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions and modern police interrogation manuals such as Inbau's Criminal Interrogation and Confession.
