Use and abuse: science under the Nazi regime

  • Talking Point
  • Audio archive

The rule of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party from 1933-45 ushered in one of the most terrifying chapters of European history. The horrors of the regime extended to every area of life for those living under it. We are all aware of the shocking experimentation carried out on concentration camp inmates in the name of science, from attempts to research battle wounds by deliberately injuring prisoners, to the sadistic ‘experiments' of Josef Mengele. But how, and why, were researchers able to argue the legitimacy of their work, irrespective of the consequences? How was research twisted to fit Nazi ideology? And how did this work become accepted as normal science within the German academic community?

In association with Allen Lane, Penguin Press

Tickets cost £8, £6 concessions and £4 for RI Members

Listen to the audio archive of this event:

http://ri.content.s3.amazonaws.com/podcasts/2008/October/29 NaziScience.mp3

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