BIOGRAPHY OF DR. FRIEDRICH WEGENER, WHO DESCRIBED GRANULOMATOUS SYSTEMIC VASCULITIS. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT HIS NAZI PAST?
Summary. Summary. The article presents a biography of Friedrich Wegener (1907–1990) who first gave a precise description of the histological pathology and singled it out of the group of vasculitis diseases. During his career Dr. Wegener was granted many awards for his description of Wegener’s granulomatosis which in 1954 was even named after. 10 years after the death of F. Wegener information about his participation in the Nazi regime and the probabale involvement in the regime crimes was found. It is well known that in 1932 Wegener joined «Sturmabteilung». During the Second World War he worked in Lodz as a military pathologist. Although there is no evidence that Friedrich Wegener ever participated in experiments in human beings, he must have known about them. He also seemed to be well aware of genocide as he worked in close proximity to it. These data raise serious concerns about the ethics of Dr. Wegener. Later on he was deprived of many of his awards and titles. Many medical societies and organizations have also started a campaign against the use of the name «Wegener’s granulomatosis» and renaming it into «ANCA-associated granulomatous vasculitis» or «granulomatosis with polyangiitis».
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