Issues in Integrative Studies

If the German euthanasia program developed from that nation’s intellectual culture, then the Nazi extension of it was not a unique horror and might be a relevant analogy for modern euthanasia debates. In this context, the case of Peter Singer (an advocate of euthanasia) and his criticisms of the Nazi analogy are particularly worthy of consideration. This article argues that Singer’s criticisms fail, and that the analogy does in fact have contemporary relevance. Introduction ETWEEN 1939 AND THE END OF WORLD WAR II, German doctors systematically killed more than 100,000 children and adult patients in hospitals and institutions throughout the country. This program had wide support among physicians and intellectuals. Our question is simple: does this German euthanasia program have anything to teach us about the prospects for permitting euthanasia today? Some writers suggest that it cannot. They say that the Nazi experience was a unique horror so distinct from present social conditions that we cannot draw from it any useful parallels. Others point to Germany’s preeminent position in the cultural and intellectual life of Europe at the turn of the century. If such horrors were possible there, they say, then they are possible anywhere and we must learn from this example. I want to explore this question in three distinct ways. First, I will examine the intellectual roots of this program. If the German euthanasia program was a natural development of the nation’s intellectual culture, then we cannot plausibly say that it was a unique, non-reproducible horror derived from Nazi distortions. In that case, the German euthanasia experience might be a relevant analogy for modern developments. Second, I will consider the B case of Peter Singer and his criticisms of the Nazi analogy. I claim that the failure of these criticisms will show that the analogy does have contemporary relevance. Finally, I will draw out a few of the lessons the Nazi euthanasia experience might provide for contemporary issues.