ABSTRACT
Although there have been ethical problems regarding the treatment of human subjects throughout history, it is common to begin with the Nazi “research” atrocities of 1933–1945. Nazi research atrocities refer to experiments conducted by respected German doctors on concentration camp inmates that led to their mutilation or death. Surprisingly, before 1933 Germany had advanced moral and legal regulations concerning consent and special protections for vulnerable subjects. As a result of the trial of 23 of these doctors, the Nuremberg code was prescribed by an international court in 1947 (see Shuster, 1997). Although it is tempting to think that these deeds could be blamed on prison guards, or rogue scientists, the evidence indicates otherwise (e.g., Pross, 1992).
