The Medical University of Vienna and the legacy of Pernkopf’s anatomical atlas: Elsevier’s donation of the original drawings to the Josephinum

Abstract

Eduard Pernkopf (1888-1955) became head of the Second Anatomical Institute in 1933, dean of the medical faculty in 1938 with the Annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany, and rector of the University of Vienna in 1943. He gained worldwide recognition with his anatomical atlas, which many consider unequaled to this day. In the decades that followed, suspicion arose that the drawings were made using corpses of people who had been victims of Nazi persecution and, following international inquiries and critique, the University of Vienna appointed a historical commission to the matter. The commission published its results in 1998, concluding that anatomical specimens used for the illustrations in Pernkopf's atlas had in all likelihood been made using corpses of victims of the Nazi judicial system. In total, the Anatomical Institute received the corpses of at least 1377 executed people, including many members of the anti-Nazi resistance. Through the acquisition of Pernkopf's original publisher Urban & Schwarzenberg in 2003, the original drawings and the publishing rights went to Elsevier. While existing copies of Pernkopf's Anatomy remain in use, printing or licensing of the atlas or its illustrations were stopped in 1994, inducing an effective ban on publishing the illustrations in other contexts, for example in works dealing with history and ethics of anatomy. In December 2019, Elsevier donated the remaining original drawings and proofs to the Medical University of Vienna, ensuring that these returned to the institution where they originated. They are now part of the university's historical collections held at the Josephinum. Moreover, the transfer of the originals to Vienna ensures appropriate archiving and conservation, cataloging and digitization, as well as access to the illustrations for historical and related research.

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