Peter Emil Becker (23 November 1908 – 7 October 2000) was a German neurologist, psychiatrist and geneticist. He is remembered for his studies of muscular dystrophies.

Becker's muscular dystrophy Becker muscular dystrophy is an X-linked recessive inherited disorder characterized by slowly progressing muscle weakness of the legs and pelvis. It is a type of dystrophinopathy. This is caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene, which encodes ...

(OMIM 300376) and Becker myotonia (OMIM 255700) are named after him. Since 1998, the ''Gesellschaft für Neuropädiatrie'' (GNP) grants ''Peter-Emil-Becker-Preis'' for special achievements in the field of child neurology. He studied medicine in Marburg, Berlin, Munich, Vienna and Hamburg, graduating in 1933. Afterwards he trained in neurology and psychiatry in Hamburg and Freiburg. Between 1934 and 1936 he was attached to the

Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics The Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics was founded in 1927 in Berlin, Germany. The Rockefeller Foundation partially funded the actual building of the Institute and helped keep the Institute afloat during the Gr ...

(KWI-A), working under the guidance of

Eugen Fischer Eugen Fischer (5 July 1874 – 9 July 1967) was a German professor of medicine, anthropology, and eugenics, and a member of the Nazi Party. He served as director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics, ...

. While at the KWI-A, Becker also worked with the prominent geneticist, eugenics specialist, and Nazi Party member Dr. Fritz Lenz.Hill, F. Dr. Peter Emil Becker and the Third Reich. Am J Med Genet A. 2013; 161A(8): 1983-4 Becker was a member of the SA (Sturmabteilung) since 1934, and in 1940 he 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 ...

. After the war he was dismissed from the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...

because of the membership in these organisations; however, in 1947 he was formally de-Nazified and has obtained

venia legendi Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

at the University of Freiburg.Zeidman, Lawrence A., and Daniel Kondziella. "Peter Becker and His Nazi Past The Man Behind Becker Muscular Dystrophy and Becker Myotonia." Journal of Child Neurology (2013). In 1957 he was appointed professor of human genetics at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

, the post he held until his retirement in 1975.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Becker, Peter Emil German geneticists German neurologists German psychiatrists 1908 births 2000 deaths People associated with the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics 20th-century German physicians