idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
A book launch with a difference at the Heidelberg University of Jewish Studies with Dr. Vera Trnka and Dr. Stephan Heinrich Nolte
On April 28, the university and the Documentation and Cultural Center of German Sinti and Roma jointly hosted a special book presentation: “In the grey areas of history: the Prague paediatrician Berthold Epstein (1890-1962)”. Over 60 guests listened intently to Vera Trnka and Stephan Heinrich Nolte, who reported on years of research, important discoveries and personal connections.
(Everything is also available on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/dTxRj7UH)
The event was extraordinary not only because of the scientific subject matter and Epstein's moving biography, but also because several members of the audience knew Epstein personally as a pediatrician. This brought history to life in an impressive and tangible way.
Berthold Epstein was born on April 1, 1890 in Pilsen and was a respected Czechoslovakian paediatrician. After the National Socialists came to power, he was deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1942. Josef Mengele brought him there as a prisoner doctor to the so-called “gypsy camp” - a term used by the National Socialists for camp section B II e. This section was used to imprison Sinti and Roma who were systematically persecuted and murdered as part of the genocide against them, the Porajmos. The “gypsy camp” was a segregated area with around 40 barracks where families were crammed together in inhumane conditions. The severe deficiency disease noma spread particularly among the children. Epstein cared for the sick in separate barracks, investigated the causes and treatment of the disease and was forced by Mengele to collaborate in his cruel human experiments. Mengele also appointed Epstein as the head of his experimental laboratory.
After liberation, Epstein remained in Auschwitz for a few more weeks and returned to Prague with the Czechoslovakian army in May 1945. There he initially met with rejection and was only able to work as a pediatrician again at the end of 1949. Despite the difficult circumstances, he was later honored for his commitment and died in 1962. His life impressively reflects the eventful history of Czechoslovakia from the Danube Monarchy through the Nazi era to the post-war period.
The author Vera Trnka, born in Prague in 1946, studied chemistry and obtained a doctorate in biochemistry. She is a volunteer in the library of the Heidelberg University for Jewish Studies and writes for Jewish publications. Stephan Heinrich Nolte is a pediatrician and psychotherapist, lecturer and specialist journalist. Together they have created an impressive testimony to German-Czech-Jewish history with their book.
Referents
HfJS Heidelberg
HfJS Heidelberg
Dr. Vera Trnka
HfJS Heidelberg
HfJS Heidelberg
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Referents
HfJS Heidelberg
HfJS Heidelberg
Dr. Vera Trnka
HfJS Heidelberg
HfJS Heidelberg
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