The Front Lines of Empathy- Nazi Germany

When referring to the "mad doctor" I would like to focus on the concept of empathy in regards to the doctors we have read about in Bad Medicine. Empathy is the ability to recognize emotions that are being experienced by others. In many definitions such as mad, crazy, senile, and many others; a lack of or misunderstanding of empathy is always present.

The obvious imbalance of empathy when looking at our nazi doctors is the relationship they have help with their patients. Any person who decides to push the human body to its limits in a low pressure chamber, or open the chest of a human while that person is still alive, or elects to use prisoners for the point of obtaining an exact point of death is obviously lacking the ability to see or feel what these people are going through. The justification at the Nuremburg Trials were directed towards the concept of "greater good," but could have been better depicted through a concept of "absence of empathy." While this corruption proves a form of madness a more subtle form of empathy (or lack there of) proves more disturbing.

The less obvious relationship lies between the doctors and commanders and depicts human actions truly slipping into the realm of madness. Whether it be a dictatorship, a democracy, or a communist party; relationships between officials delegate all powers and abilities of its members. What is so disturbing about the Nazi party's experiments is that the officials were obviously empathetic towards the doctors morbid curiosities. Commanders not only understood the urges to know more about human anotomy, but were empathetic when responding to the letters in granting them more participants, and even congratulating them on their findings. It is almost as if since they have empathy for each other in regards to the scientific brilliance that put their patients through misery and torture; has left them with a void for empathy in regards to what their patients are going through during these experiments.

Perhaps we can learn something about madness and empathy from the mad doctors in Germany. That too much empathy in some areas of life cause a lack of empathy in the more important areas of life.