Deadly Medicine?!

     Today I had the pleasure of visiting the Reece Museum at East Tennessee State University. As I have stated in previous blogs, I love stopping by the Reece Museum and checking out what exhibits they have going on throughout the year. The exhibit that they are now featuring, struck a chord with me because it involves something that I am very passionate about. The current exhibit being featured here is called, “Deadly Medicine”. The featured artwork consists of pictures, letters, and documentaries that focus on medical practices throughout history (mostly surrounding the time of Nazi power and Hitler in Germany) that were widely practiced and were generally thought of as helpful and healing for the human body or for the human race as a whole.

     This exhibit was different than any others that I had seen before because the focus was not necessarily on the pictures, although they did have a major effect on the impact these stories and documentaries had on the audience. Rather the point of this exhibit was to show the audience what was believed by government officials and many medical practitioners of this times and how the decisions they made based on this affected the people.

     The main topic discussed throughout the exhibit was Eugenics. Basically, the government was advising “more valuable” people in society to have large families, while making every effort to sterilize everyone else. The people were given a list of “commandments for finding a mate” to ensure that there was no mixing of races, class, and potential illness. Sterilization was considered more humane than euthanasia, though both were used commonly. This did not just include adults, but also affected children. Babies who were born premature were seen as lacking in necessary components of life and were euthanized. This was considered a “mercy death” so that the child did not have to deal with their “certain” disabilities later on. This hit home with me because I was born 2 months early. The fact that they wanted to destroy a human life on any grounds, but most certainly without knowing if their estimation regarding mental capacity and capabilities was true, infuriates me. I turned out just fine, and it is so sad because many of these other children would have as well.

     All in all, this exhibit was very intriguing. I loved that it incorporated so many different types of information, and that it gave such a clear picture of what this “deadly medicine” was like. This exhibit shows the darker side of medical history, and how, especially at that time in history, it can be twisted by political interventions. I would highly recommend everyone check it out. “Deadly Medicine” will remain in the Reece Museum until 09/28/17 and no matter what your interests are, you will be intrigued by this display and leave with more knowledge of this period in history and a deeper understanding of how medical theories affect history, than what you entered with.