University teachers of dentistry in the Third Reich and post-war Germany

The present quantitative study examines all university teachers of dentistry and maxillofacial surgery who experienced the Third Reich as adult citizens (n = 300). The focus is on the following research questions: How high was the percentage of university lecturers that joined the NSDAP (Nazi Party) during the Third Reich? What were the social milieus from which these lecturers originated and in which ways were their respective social backgrounds correlated to their political commitment? Which correlations can be identified between the political position of the lecturers and their career paths in the Third Reich and after 1945? The detection of the persons concerned and the recording of all biographical data was carried out on the basis of numerous archival sources (Federal Archives Berlin, various state, regional and city archives) and printed writings - including specialist encyclopedias, dentist books, faculty chronicles, biographical dissertations as well as laudations and necrologies in contemporary dental journals. The study provides several key findings: Nearly two thirds of the lecturers joined the NSDAP - a figure that is clearly in the upper end of estimates made by previous research as well as significantly above the percentage for medical doctors in general (45 %). The dentists of an upper-class background demonstrated similar affinity for the NSDAP as those of a lower-class background. The vast majority of NSDAP members were able to advance their careers during the Third Reich, but the overwhelming majority of NSDAP members was also able to pass denazification procedures unscathed after 1945. The results are discussed in detail and various explanatory approaches are provided.