Gegen das Vergessen. Jüdische Ärztinnen der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Innere Medizin im Porträt. [Against oblivion: Remembering the first Jewish women doctors of the German Society for Internal Medicine]

Zielonka, Vina ; Forsbach, Ralf ; Hofer, Hans-Georg ; Fölsch, Ulrich R.

Abstract

In 1933, the German Society for Internal Medicine (DGIM) willingly adapted to the ideology and politics of the Nazi regime. Seven members of the Society were Jewish women doctors, women making up 1% of all members by that time. By pursuing a career in medicine, these women refused to take on the traditional woman’s role, opting instead for an unusual path in life and making the medical profession their central mission despite difficult conditions. Under Nazi dictatorship, they were deprived of their livelihood, disenfranchised, persecuted and forced into exile. While this also applies to their male colleagues, Jewish women doctors are considerably less visible. This article presents and contextualises their biographies in order to increase their visibility and integrate them more explicitly into today’s culture of remembrance.