Medicine and Ethics: Lessons of History

Abstract

The article reviews in detail various aspects of the activities of doctors in Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan and the “democratic” USA. It is emphasized that at present, more and more attention is being paid to ethical problems related to medical activity, and the presence of strong moral principles in a doctor should be valued as highly as a high level of professional training. It is concluded that the lessons of history must be remembered in order not to return to this terrible past. The current tendency to keep silent about the terrible events of such a recent past must be stopped. The memory of thousands of victims of these inhuman “experiments” must be preserved. The oblivion of this past lies at the heart of the repetition of unsightly, inhumane “experiments” even in the so-called “democratic” countries. And only a steadfast civil position, including that of doctors, will allow avoiding a repeat of this past.