Paul Rostock (18 January 1892 – 17 June 1956) was a Nazi physician,

official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

, and university

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

. He was chief of the Office for Medical Science and Research (''Amtschef der Dienststelle Medizinische Wissenschaft und Forschung'') under Third Reich Commissioner and Nazi war criminal

Karl Brandt Karl Brandt (8 January 1904 – 2 June 1948) was a German physician and ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) officer in Nazi Germany. Trained in surgery, Brandt joined the Nazi Party in 1932 and became Adolf Hitler's escort doctor in August 1934. A member of ...

and a full professor, medical doctorate, medical superintendent of the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

Surgical Clinic. After the end 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 opposin ...

, he was tried as a war criminal in the Doctors' Trial for his complicity in medical atrocities performed on concentration camp prisoners.

Education and Nazi Party membership

Rostock was born in Kranz, Meseritz district,

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. He studied medicine in Greifswald and completed his medical doctorate at

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

in 1921. He received his medical license and became an intern at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

Surgical Clinic. From 1927 to 1933, Rostock was assistant medical director at Bergmannsheil Hospital in

Bochum Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous Germany, German federal state o ...

and worked with Karl Brandt, who was at that time an intern there. In 1933, Rostock took on the position of medical superintendent in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and in 1941 became associate professor and director of the

Surgical Clinic in Ziegel Street, where Karl Brandt was then working as assistant medical director. Rostock became dean of the medical faculty at the University of Berlin in 1942. Rostock joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

on May 1, 1937 (No. 5,917,621) and the

National Socialist German Physicians Association National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

on February 20, 1940 (Nr. 31,569). Rostock's military medical career began in 1939 with a position as Consulting Surgeon to the

Nazi Army The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

. In 1943, General Commissioner Karl Brandt chose Rostock as his deputy and representative in the Medical Science Research Department.

Doctor's Trial and Later Years

Rostock was a defendant in the Doctors' Trial. Because of his very high position, Rostock was charged with complicity in several series of

human experiments ''Human Experiments'' (also known as ''Beyond the Gate'') is a 1979 American horror film directed and co-produced by Gregory Goodell. It stars Linda Haynes, Geoffrey Lewis, Ellen Travolta, Aldo Ray, Jackie Coogan and Lurene Tuttle. This film earn ...

on concentration camp prisoners. He was acquitted and released in August 1947."The Nuremberg Trials: The Doctors Trial"
/ref> He immediately began to work on documentation of the Doctors' Trial, with the goal of presenting the trial to the public from another perspective. Rostock never finished this project. In 1948, Rostock began working as medical supervisor of Versehrten Hospital in Possenhofen. He then worked as the medical supervisor of Versorgungs Hospital in

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, from 1953 to his death at age 64 in

Bad Tölz Bad Tölz (; Bavarian language, Bavarian: ''Däiz'') is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany and the administrative center of the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district. History Archaeology has shown continuous occupation of the site of Bad Tö ...

References

1892 births 1956 deaths People from the Province of Posen Nazi Party officials Physicians in the Nazi Party People indicted for war crimes People acquitted by the United States Nuremberg Military Tribunals German surgeons 20th-century surgeons {{Germany-med-bio-stub

Education and Nazi Party membership

Doctor's Trial and Later Years

See also

References