‘In the Shadow of the Reich: Nazi Medicine’ to be presented Oct. 19

A documentary examining how medical doctors contributed to the Holocaust will be shown on Wednesday, Oct. 19, as part of the Wright State University Medicine and the Holocaust Community Seminar and Film Series.

The award-winning film “In the Shadow of the Reich: Nazi Medicine” will be shown at 5 p.m. in the Gandhi Auditorium of White Hall at the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. The film was produced and directed by John Michalczyk, professor and director of film studies at Boston College.

Michalczyk has published several books, including “Filming the End of the Holocaust: Allied Documentaries” and “Nuremberg and the Liberation of the Concentration Camps.” He also has produced 22 films, including “Writing on the Wall: Remembering the Berlin Wall,” “The Cross and the Star: Jews, Christians and the Holocaust” and “Creating Harmony: The Displaced Persons Orchestra from St. Ottilien.”

Felix Weil, a Holocaust survivor who was put on the Kindertransport as a child, never to see his family again, will give a talk following the film.

Following Weil’s talk, medical students will discuss the topic, “Should we use Pernkopf’s anatomy atlas?” The seven-volume atlas produced by artists who were ardent Nazis is considered a scientific and artistic masterpiece, but it has been surrounded by controversy over the question of whether some of the figures shown in the paintings were Holocaust victims.

The Wright State University Medicine and the Holocaust Community Seminar and Film series is an outgrowth of the Medicine and the Holocaust course for fourth-year students at the Boonshoft School of Medicine.

The event is free and open to the public. No reservations are needed.