title: The Limit of a strong Lobby: Why did August Bier and Ferdinand Sauerbruch never receive the Nobel Prize?
abstract: August Bier (1861-1949) and Ferdinand Sauerbruch (1875-1951) have remained two of the most influential figures during the first half of the 20th century in German and even in international surgery. They were jointly awarded Adolf Hitler's German Science Prize in 1937, but never the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, although no other German surgeons were nominated as often as Bier and Sauerbruch for the prestigeful award from 1901 to 1950. This contribution gives an overview of the reasons why and by whom Bier and Sauerbruch were nominated, and discusses the reasons of the Nobel Prize Committee for not awarding them.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Ethik und Geschichte der Medizin, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Humboldtallee 36, D-37073 Göttingen, Germany. Electronic address: nhansso@gwdg.de.
authors.forename: Nils
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hansson
authors.affiliation: Institut für Geschichte der Medizin und Ethik in der Medizin, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Thielallee 71, D-14159 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: udo.schagen@charite.de.
authors.forename: Udo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schagen
mesh_terms: D013502:General Surgery / Q000266:history*; D005858:Germany; D049673:History, 20th Century; D008119:Lobbying; D009613:Nobel Prize; D012586:Science / Q000266:history
keywords: August Bier; Ferdinand Sauerbruch; History of surgery; National Socialism; Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine