The Role of Immigrant Physicians and Scientists in the Establishment Process of Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of History of Medicine and Ethics, Faculty of Medicine, Suleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkiye

2 Ph.D., M.D., Professor, Department of History of Medicine and Ethics, Faculty of Medicine, Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Turkiye

Abstract

University reform was carried out in Turkiye in 1933. Many people of Jewish heritage, opposition doctors, and others who had fled Nazi persecution in Europe sought safety in Turkiye between 1933 and the end of World War II. Having examined the relevant official state archive documents, we, as our main objective, aimed to share the information obtained about immigrant physicians and scientists who worked at Istanbul University, contributing to establishing the Faculty of Medicine from 1933 until the end of World War II.
The study was designed as a qualitative-multiple document analysis. Documents found by scanning the catalog of the Turkish Presidency State Archives Republic Archive Catalog were examined. In addition, other publications on the subject have been read. 
Seventeen original archival documents on physicians and other scientists who fled Nazi Germany and took refuge in Turkiye are examined. The names of 16 physicians and scientists are mentioned in the documents. They worked at the institute, clinic, School of Dentistry, and School of Pharmacists incorporated in the Faculty of Medicine. In addition to the advantages Turkiye provided for the scientists who took refuge, the country made it simple for their relatives to move and live there. Some of these scientists even acquired Turkish citizenship.
It is found that immigrant physicians and scientists who took refuge in Turkiye have made a significant contribution to the development of Turkish medical education and medicine.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Research on History of Medicine
Volume 11, Issue 4
November 2022
Pages 267-278

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