New Books Network Howard Alan Israel, "Nazi Anatomy Lessons: A Dissection of Evil" (Vallentine Mitchell, 2026)
Feb 13, 2026
Dr. Howard Alan Israel, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon and author, recounts a thirty-year investigation sparked by a single revelation. He explores the Pernkopf anatomy atlas, its Nazi-era origins, the identities of its victims, institutional denial, and the moral questions of using knowledge born of atrocity. The conversation examines memory, accountability, and how professionals should reckon with tainted scientific legacies.
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Gifted Atlas Became A Moral Trigger
- Howard Alan Israel received Pernkopf's Atlas as a gift and used it obsessively through residency and teaching for decades.
- A colleague's offhand comment in 1994 that Pernkopf "was a Nazi" launched his thirty-year investigation and moral struggle.
Anatomy Teaching Was Political
- Pernkopf led Vienna's Anatomy Institute and taught racial hygiene as Nazism rose, replacing Jewish anatomist Julius Tandler.
- Political conformity became essential for academic survival, linking medical education to Nazi ideology.
Victim Identities Were Complex
- Israel and Dr. Bill Seidelman queried the University of Vienna and learned victims included Austrian resistance fighters, communists, homosexuals and some Jews.
- The university initially denied Jewish concentration camp victims but acknowledged other Nazi victims in the Atlas.
