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'War & Medicine' draws from University research and expertise

Ulf Schmidt, Professor of Modern History and Director of Research at the School of History, University of Kent, has made a substantial contribution to War & Medicine, a major new exhibition running from 22 November to 15 February at the Wellcome Collection in London.

Professor Schmidt's contribution to the exhibition, which spans the Crimean War and today's conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, has largely been on the subject of human experimentation, particularly in relation to medical war crimes committed by German doctors during the Second World War. Professor Schmidt is a well known and respected authority in this area, having researched and written extensively on subjects such as the history and theory of human experimentation, the trials of Nazi doctors at Nuremberg, and Karl Brandt, Adolf Hitler's physician, escort and organiser of the Nazi euthanasia programme from 1939.

Professor Schmidt also contributed to a section on the history of chemical warfare that includes a display of original evidence surrounding the death of Leading Aircraftman Ronald Maddison, who in a 1953 test at Porton Down (Britain's infamous biological and chemical warfare establishment) was exposed to the nerve agent sarin. Previously, Professor Schmidt was called upon to act as an expert witness in the case brought against the government by Ronald Maddison's family. He is also the principle investigator on the Porton Down Project, a Wellcome Trust-funded investigation into the history and ethics of Britain's biological and chemical warfare programme during the Cold War.

Professor Schmidt is pleased to be involved with the exhibition. He said: 'This has been an exciting and demanding time which went beyond the daily academic routine; identifying and presenting the most appropriate material without sensationalising it was challenging, to say the least. Most of my material 'speaks' for itself, yet the curators and graphic designers have done an excellent job in combining powerful visual images with textual sources and the right degree of background information. It really works.'

Professor Schmidt also pointed out the uncomfortable and sometimes paradoxical relationship between war and medicine. 'It is certainly true that war can boost certain types of medical research which can be of benefit for the war effort, but war also poses enormous challenges to researchers and their organisation to uphold established standards of medical ethics and human decency. A national emergency does not justify unethical research,' he said. 'I hope that people will see this as an opportunity to learn more about the intricate relationship between war and medicine in the past, and understand the relevance of it in modern day conflicts.'

War & Medicine contains over 200 exhibits, including objects, artefacts and recordings, as well as interpretative material, film and artworks. Admission is free.

Contact: mediaoffice@kent.ac.uk

Story published at 9:28am 12 December 2008