Berthold Epstein (1 April 1890 – 9 June 1962) was a pediatrician, professor, and

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosoph ...

who was conscripted as a doctor in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II.

Life and career

Berthold Epstein was born into a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, 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 Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet is one of the four main campuses of Oslo University Hospital in Oslo, Norway. It was an independent hospital, ''Rigshospitalet'', later spelled ''Rikshospitalet'' ("The National Hospital"), from 1826 to 200 ...

. Epstein was among the small number of refugees licensed to practice medicine in Norway before the

German invasion German invasion may refer to: Pre-1900s * German invasion of Hungary (1063) World War I * German invasion of Belgium (1914) * German invasion of Luxembourg (1914) World War II * Invasion of Poland * German invasion of Belgium (1940) * G ...

on 9 April. Unfortunately, the

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

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

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

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 from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

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 was compelled to assist the notoriously unethical

Josef Mengele , allegiance = , branch = Schutzstaffel , serviceyears = 1938–1945 , rank = '' SS''-'' Hauptsturmführer'' (Captain) , servicenumber = , battles = , unit = , awards = , commands = , ...

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 Distr ...

, a deadly and disfiguring form of malnutrition-induced gangrene. 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 the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...

. He lived in Prague for the remainder of his life, serving as chair of the city's

Bulovka Hospital Bulovka Hospital ( cs, Fakultní nemocnice Bulovka) is a large teaching hospital complex in Prague, situated on a hillock adjoining the in Prague 8 - Libeň Libeň (german: Lieben) is a cadastral area and district of Prague, Czech Republic. ...

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