HEALTH REFORM page 31
What a progression...Is this
so different from what was de-
manded of physicians in Hitler's
Germany?
After World War I in Ger-
many, physicians were seen as
servants of the state, rather
than independent practitioners.
Their primary allegiance was
pledged to the government. At
this same time, the chronically
ill were viewed as a tremendous
economic burden on German
society. The sickly, the im-
paired, the homosexual and the
undesirable were seen as being
maintained at the expense of
precious and limited resources
of the larger community. Dur-
ing national crisis, pressures
on the national economy were
simply to be eliminated.
Medical care was to be ra-
tioned.
But how could this rationing
be made acceptable? By a sim-
ple technique that we are all
well aware of today: reframing.
"We can learn from
history."
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Name
Address
State
City
Phone
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Some patients were viewed as
having lives of lesser value, and
eventually were actually con-
sidered a lower form of life. The
concept of lebensunwertes Leben
was formulated. Translated,
this means: Life not worthy of
life itself. Such lives were not to
be sustained.
Such a philosophy permitted
a clear psychological and emo-
tional distancing between the
physician and patient. It dis-
couraged the physicians and
even the nation from any per-
sonal identification with the vic-
tim and thereby facilitated the
wholesale killing, or more prop-
erly stated, the elimination of
the victim, who was popularly
referred to as: "the Problem" or
"the Jewish Problem." Even the
human reference was removed
from popular jargon.
Is this so different from our
America today? By only a small
step.
In Nazi Germany, changes
were clearly imposed upon the
population through a dictator-
ship. But the population was
systematically made ready and
accepting. The populace sup-
ported the young and charis-
matic Adolph Hitler as a leader
who spoke for the German peo-
ple. A leader who captured the
hopes and dreams of the com-
mon man...
It was not hard to convince
the people that greedy, corrupt
and contaminating elements in
their Great Society were acting
as hindrances and threats
which would undermine the
strength of the Fatherland and
the good, hard-working and de-
I 0 0
V
serving Aryan People. The Ger-
man Parliament was in grid-
lock. Private interest lobbyists
and the elitist ruling establish-
ment were out of touch with the
Manifest Destiny of the Great
Aryan Nation and its future
generations. The old ruling
class had gotten the country
into debt, had made expensive
and unproductive decisions,
was responsible for the unem-
ployment and suffering of the
populace, all the while being ac-
cused of trying to protect its
privileged lifestyle.
In our country, similar con-
ditions and changes appear
more subtle although they are
still insidiously and incremen-
tally imposed. We might take a
look back at the rhetoric of the
last presidential election.
In Clinton's televised speech
in September, while introduc-
ing his health plan to the na-
tion, he also spoke of greedy and
corrupt forces within our na-
tion. Those forces, he said, hin-
der the efficient delivery of
health care to the American
people and are responsible for
the rising costs, inadequacies,
and failures of the health-care
system.
A striking parallel in pre-
sentation. Is it so different now?
Changes are already afoot...
We can learn from history.
In countries where national-
ization and full control of med-
icine were all the rage over the
last few decades (Germany,
England, Israel), there is again
privatization. Why? The people
demanded it ...
Our American heritage is the
commitment to individual free-
dom. The Constitution and the
Bill of Rights still stand as our
guide. But we must also main-
tain the hope that there will be
a survivor. And that survivor,
wherever he or she may be, will
have the responsibility of con-
tinuing an honored tradition.
The tradition of learning, heal-
ing, helping and maintaining
the dignity of man.
This editorial was excerpted
from "The Holocaust Museum:
Lessons for AmericanMedicine"
by Dr. Anna Scherzer, a psy-
chiatrist who presented her
views on health reform at the
50th annual meeting of the As-
sociation of American Physi-
cians and Surgeons in San
Antonio, Texas. ❑
A Bone To Pick...
Do you have "A Bone To
Pick" with a health-related
issue? Submit an editorial
to Ruth Littmann, The Jew-
ish News, 27676 Franklin
.Road, Southfield, MI 48034.
We welcome all views. All
manuscripts are subject to
editing.