The Editors of Scientific Journals in Dentistry in Nazi Germany and after 1945: A Sociodemographic Study

Abstract

Abstract This socio-demographic study examines the effects of the Nazification of the professional press in the Third Reich using the example of the dental press organs. Three subgroups were examined: (1) dental editors who lost their positions after Hitler assumed power; (2) editors who were newly appointed or confirmed in their positions during the Third Reich; and (3) editors who were recruited for these positions in the post-war period. The study was based on archival sources, contemporary registers, and dental journals from 1932-1949. These sources were supplemented by available secondary literature. A total of 34 editors were identified and their biographies reconstructed. Several of the editors appointed during the Nazi regime were able take up their positions again after 1945. Overall, the majority of editors appointed between 1945-1950 were former party members; in contrast, not a single Nazi victim was appointed to a position of this kind. We conclude in this article that denazification had no consequences for the specialist dental press. On the contrary, dentists who had benefited professionally from the Nazi regime during the Third Reich stood a good chance of furthering their careers after 1945.