The Pernkopf Project is created and maintained by Professor Aaron Fried.
Why does MVCC have to deal with the Pernkopf controversy?
In our human donor lab we have copies of the Clemente anatomy atlas. Clemente used images that came from both the Sobotta and Pernkopf atlases. There are also images in Clemente that were used in Pernkopf atlases and then appeared in Sobotta atlases. In order to deal with this ethical issue, we have decided to keep the atlases and display this plaque on the opening to our lab. Additionally, we already had a great deal of ethical discussion in relation to the use of human body donors, so we added the role of Pernkopf to these discussions.
What is the single most important reason these atlases are controversial?
The bodies that were used for dissection at the University of Vienna medical school were those of executed prisoners. While that was common at the time, many of these prisoners were executed for being opposed to Nazi ideology, these were people were executed as political prisoners. That is why we discuss their legacy.
