Citation

Weisz GM. Isr. Med. Assoc. J. 2011; 13(5): 266-269.

Affiliation

Wolper Jewish Hospital, School of History, University of New South Wales, Sydney. gmweisz@aol.com

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Israel Medical Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

21845964

Abstract

This medical history essay claims that a medical fraud was committed by the authorities and was used as a pretext for the November 1938 anti-jewish Kristallnacht pogrom throughout the Third Reich. The suggested conspiracy covered up the real cause of death of the German Embassy's secretary in Paris. Baron Ernst vom Rath had been shot by a Jewish teenager who was frantic because of the plight of his family. A surgical analysis of the victim's injuries, and of the medical attention he received, suggests the likelihood of medical malpractice which led to his preventable demise.

Language: en