Schultze, walter robert

(¤ 1893, 1970) Dermatologist, dermatological training at the University Dermatology Clinic in Giessen. 1925 habilitation. 1929 Appointment as associate professor in Giessen. 1934 Short-term clinical management of the University Dermatology Clinic in Frankfurt am Main. 1934, as successor to Bodo Spiethoff, appointment as full professor at the University of Jena. Just one year later, in 1935, he was appointed to the chair of dermatology at the University of Giessen, succeeding A. Jesionek. Schultze's appointment to the chair in Giessen was justified by the fact that he had "played a decisive political role in the penetration of the revolution into the university". In Giessen, he became the local leader of the National Socialist German Lecturers' Association (NSDDB) and head of the lecturers' association. Schultze was also a National Socialist "confidant" at the university and a member of the Nazi Doctors' Association. In 1944, he was a member of the scientific advisory board of the Plenipotentiary for the Health Service. Schultze's negative role during the National Socialist era is undisputed. He described a new form of "action against asocial sexually transmitted diseases" and stated: "Doctors must no longer be content to treat sexually transmitted diseases with varying degrees of success, but we must actively tackle the root of the problem. We recognize an enemy and attack him, no matter where we find him". In other words, the patient was "declared" to be the enemy and was treated as such. Schultze, who had already joined the NSDAP in 1931 (NSDAP-Altparteigenosse) and liked to boast about his low party book number, forcibly barracked the patients in a labor camp: the duration of the "asylum" depended on their previous life. "Since the asocial sexually ill are clinically without appearance, they can all work. We want to put the work-shy on other paths through heavy physical exertion, discipline them and then have a deterrent effect on others." Schultze was removed from office in Giessen in 1945. In 1946, Schultze was dismissed from all posts, but was able to open a private practice. From 1950, he was once again active as a full professor in Giessen until he retired in 1958. His former senior physician Hans Koehler took over the management of the dermatology clinic, which had been severely damaged during the war, from 1945-1949.

1. Weyers W (2002) Dermatology under National Socialism - the decline of a special field. Writings of the Collegium Europaeum Jenense, Issue 25