ABSTRACT
The extent and inhumanity of biomedical research on human subjects during the Nazi period have been the cause of intense debates about the impact of political contexts on medical practice, the specificities of science under Nazism, and the dangers and limits of medical research. Medical historiography has a considerable degree confirmed and substantiated these early evaluations by Alexander Mitscherlich. This chapter provides a short summary of the Richtlinien's content and legal status, issues of dissemination and implementation will be addressed for the period between their publication in 1931, and the end of the Nazi regime in 1945. It describes the use of the guidelines in the immediate post-war period, both as a benchmark of research ethics, and an instrument of exculpation. The chapter explores the outlines for a non-public discussion about the Richtlinien as an obstacle for efficient clinical research, which may explain their disappearance from German medical ethics and law in the 1960s, instead of a potential legal enforcement.
