Hermann Voss (anatomist)
Encyclopedia
Christian Heinrich Emil Hermann Voss (October 13 1894 in Berlin
- January 19 1987 in Hamburg
) was a German
anatomist
. Well known as a medical academic and textbook author he was also notorious for his experiments during the Third Reich.
and Malchin
. He studied variously at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Heidelberg University and the University of Rostock
before completing his doctorate in 1919, including a spell away from study in the army during the First World War as an army doctor.
Voss became assistant anatomist at his Rostock alma mater in May 1919. In 1926 he transferred to the University of Leipzig
but here found career advancement difficult to come by. Voss joined the Nazi Party in 1937, initially only to help advance his career which he felt was being held back by his lack of involvement in the party. The following year Voss was appointed chief anatomist and associate professor at Leipzig.
and Poles
became commonplace and indeed Voss became notorious for his anti-Polish sentiment, writing in his diaries that "the Polish people must be eradicated". By this time Voss had become a convinced follower of the Nazi weltanschauung, with his diaries revealing a strong current of anti-Semitism
and anti-communism
.
Whilst in this role he made a deal with the local Gestapo
allowing them to use his incinerators in return for the use of some of the bodies of those executed by hanging or decapitation. Voss also had a sideline selling the skulls and death masks of Jews and Poles, with the Naturhistorisches Museum
's curator Josef Wastl being his leading customer for this particular service. Along with colleagues such as Robert Herrlinger Voss undertook preparation work for this trade as soon as the victims had been killed.
and Stuttgart
for almost forty years and seventeen editions and became a standard reference for German medical students, with editions also appearing in Spanish
and Polish
. He also edited the world renowned journal Anatomischer Anzeiger from 1952 to 1974 and from 1954 to 1980 was director of the equally prestigious Acta Histochemica, the leading journal on delicate tissue studies.
He would subsequently move to West Germany
in retirement and died in Hamburg in 1987 at the age of 95.
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
- January 19 1987 in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
) was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
anatomist
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
. Well known as a medical academic and textbook author he was also notorious for his experiments during the Third Reich.
Early life
The son of a manor lessee, Voss was born in Berlin but raised in WarnkenhagenWarnkenhagen
Warnkenhagen is a municipality in the Rostock district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany....
and Malchin
Malchin
Malchin is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district , in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany.It offers some notable landmarks, such as two Brick Gothic town gates, a medieval defense tower, the Gothic town church of St. Johannis and the Neo Baroque town hall.-External links:*...
. He studied variously at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Heidelberg University and the University of Rostock
University of Rostock
The University of Rostock is the university of the city Rostock, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.Founded in 1419, it is the oldest and largest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Sea area...
before completing his doctorate in 1919, including a spell away from study in the army during the First World War as an army doctor.
Voss became assistant anatomist at his Rostock alma mater in May 1919. In 1926 he transferred to the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
but here found career advancement difficult to come by. Voss joined the Nazi Party in 1937, initially only to help advance his career which he felt was being held back by his lack of involvement in the party. The following year Voss was appointed chief anatomist and associate professor at Leipzig.
Under the Nazis
Following the establishment of the Reich University of Posen Voss served as director of the anatomy institute. Under Voss experiments on both JewsJews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
and Poles
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
became commonplace and indeed Voss became notorious for his anti-Polish sentiment, writing in his diaries that "the Polish people must be eradicated". By this time Voss had become a convinced follower of the Nazi weltanschauung, with his diaries revealing a strong current of anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
and anti-communism
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
.
Whilst in this role he made a deal with the local Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
allowing them to use his incinerators in return for the use of some of the bodies of those executed by hanging or decapitation. Voss also had a sideline selling the skulls and death masks of Jews and Poles, with the Naturhistorisches Museum
Naturhistorisches Museum
The Naturhistorisches Museum Wien or NHMW is a large museum located in Vienna, Austria.The collections displayed cover , and the museum has a website providing an overview as a video virtual tour....
's curator Josef Wastl being his leading customer for this particular service. Along with colleagues such as Robert Herrlinger Voss undertook preparation work for this trade as soon as the victims had been killed.
Post-war
Following the war Voss settled in East Germany and was a professor at the University of Jena from 1952 to 1962 and later as a professor emeritus at Greifswald Medical School. His anatomy textbook, popularly known as "Voss und Herrlinger" was published simultaneously in JenaJena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
and Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
for almost forty years and seventeen editions and became a standard reference for German medical students, with editions also appearing in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
. He also edited the world renowned journal Anatomischer Anzeiger from 1952 to 1974 and from 1954 to 1980 was director of the equally prestigious Acta Histochemica, the leading journal on delicate tissue studies.
He would subsequently move to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
in retirement and died in Hamburg in 1987 at the age of 95.