The Fake Prison Doctor of Auschwitz is a disturbing monograph on released notes stored in Switzerland and recovered much later, written and interpreted by Bogdan Musial. Originally published in German in 2019, this English language translation is due out 30th Sept 2024 from Pen & Sword on their History imprint. It's a compact 224 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.
There was so much misery, horror, and trauma on such an immense scale from the concentration camps during WW2 that the entire scope and damage to humanity may never be known. Many of the most complex and most compelling philosophies of modern medical ethics (informed consent, beneficence, non-maleficence (avoiding harm) autonomy (giving the patient the freedom to choose freely, where they are able) and justice (ensuring fairness), to name a few) arose -directly- from the aftermath of the horrific abuses which happened in these camps.
This book is written from the author's personal experiences, coming into contact with historical records locked in a bank vault. Musial's expertise was sought in establishing the authenticity of the journals and records as a historian and expert of the subject. The process eventually uncovered discrepancies and this monograph covers the fraud, the investigative work done, and the fallout. Possibly the book's biggest takeaway is cautionary; academics are also vulnerable to being swept up in the excitement of discovery. Dr. Richard Feynman's famous quote comes to mind: “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool.”
Much of the book is related by the author as recollection and as such, it's quite scattered and definitely not a linear (or easy) read. Additionally, the translation work (uncredited, possibly done by the author himself?) is not seamless and the prose is choppy and disconnected in places.
It's well annotated throughout, but readers who aren't fluent in Hungarian and/or German will struggle. Some of the references are possibly also available in translation, it wasn't clear from the links.
The book contains a number of facsimile pages from the journal and other sources, historical photos, and archival materials which are likely worth the price of the book.
Three and a half stars (mostly for the disjointed narrative which is difficult to follow). It's an interesting case, but could have been elucidated much more clearly. It would potentially be a good choice for public or post-secondary school library acquisition, or for readers of history.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
No comments:
Post a Comment