Berthold Epstein (1 April 1890 – 9 June 1962) was a

pediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

, professor, and

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

who was conscripted as a doctor in the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

during World War II.

Life and career

Berthold Epstein was born into a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in Pilsen in 1890. As an adult, he became professor and director at a children's clinic affiliated with the German Hospital in Prague, and married Ottilie née Eckstein. In reaction to the escalation of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Epstein travelled to Norway on 15 March 1940. Accepted on the recommendation of the Norwegian pediatric association, he was also encouraged to apply for the position as the head of the pediatric clinic at Rikshospitalet. Epstein was among the small number of refugees licensed to practice medicine in Norway before the German invasion on 9 April. The

Nazi persecution of Jews The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jews, Ashken ...

put an end to his Norwegian pediatrics career, and he instead conducted research on

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

until his arrest on 27 October 1942. His arrest was followed by his

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or is under sen ...

on the on 26 November the same year.

Auschwitz

Having been deported from Norway to Third Reich-annexed Poland, Epstein was then transported to the

Camp in Auschwitz. There, he assisted the notoriously unethical

Josef Mengele Josef Mengele (; 16 March 19117 February 1979) was a Nazi German (SS) officer and physician during World War II at the Russian front and then at Auschwitz during the Holocaust, often dubbed the "Angel of Death" (). He performed Nazi hum ...

with experiments concerning a possible treatment of

noma Noma, NoMa, or NOMA may refer to: Places * NoMa, the area North of Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., US ** NoMa–Gallaudet U station, on Washington Metro * Noma, Florida, US * NOMA, Manchester, a redevelopment in England * Noma District, ...

, a deadly and disfiguring form of malnutrition-induced

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

. About 3,000 people died due to this research, which included deliberately infecting healthy individuals. During Epstein's captivity as a physician at Auschwitz, members of his own family were among the camp's victims. Several efforts were made—among others by Prince Carl of Sweden—to liberate Epstein from the camp, but none succeeded; and Epstein remained at the facility until the war's end.

Post war

Having survived the war, Epstein later testified in the Soviet war crimes trials on

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

. He lived in Prague for the remainder of his life, serving as chair of the city's Bulovka Hospital pediatric clinic from 1949 until his death in 1962, at the age of 72.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Epstein, Berthold 1890 births 1962 deaths Czech pediatricians Czech Jews Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Norway Auschwitz concentration camp survivors

Life and career

Auschwitz

Post war

Further reading

References