Apologizing for the past: German science and Nazi medicine.
Recently, religious organisations, governments and public institutions have begun to offer apologies for historical wrongs. Can they legitimately do so? Departing from the tendency, Professor Hubert Markl, President of the Max Planck Society, has offered strong reasons for not apologizing for the crimes of medical scientists who experimented on human subjects during the Nazi era. He argues that only the perpetrators can meaningfully apologize. Markl's position is considered and rejected in favour of the view that apologies by proxy for historical wrongs are justifiable and should be made by institutions that have the authority to do so.
Grace
Damian
D
School of Social Work, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia 2052. d.grace@unsw.edu.au
D035881:Compensation and Redress; D003209:Concentration Camps; D005858:Germany; D006805:Human Experimentation; D006801:Humans; D011056:Political Systems; D012958:Societies, Scientific; D014858:War Crimes