New revelations about Hans Berger, father of the electroencephalogram (EEG), and his ties to the Third Reich

Lawrence A Zeidman, James Stone, Daniel Kondziella

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Hans Berger was a German neuropsychiatrist and head of the neurology department at the University of Jena, who discovered the human electroencephalogram (EEG). Many sources state that Berger was forced into retirement and suicide by the Nazis because he was at odds with the regime. In fact, Berger helped select his Nazi successor Berthold Kihn (complicit in "euthanasia" murders), financially supported the Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS), and was a willing participant on Nazi genetic health higher courts that reviewed appeals for forced sterilizations of neuropsychiatric patients. His motivations could be related to avoiding Nazi harassment, indoctrination by Nazi ideology, or less likely, career opportunism. His actions stand in contrast to colleagues who partially resisted the Nazis, and hopefully will serve as an example to future generations of neurologists regarding the danger of allowing one's professional standing to be used as a tool to support the policies of tyranny and oppression.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Child Neurology
Volume29
Issue number7
Pages (from-to)1002-10
Number of pages9
ISSN0883-0738
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2014

Keywords

  • Aged
  • Brain/physiology
  • Electroencephalography/history
  • Germany
  • History, 19th Century
  • History, 20th Century
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Medical Illustration/history
  • National Socialism/history
  • Neurology/history

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