Hubertus Strughold facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hubertus Strughold
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Hubertus Strughold
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| Born | June 15, 1898 Westtünnen-im-Hamm, Westphalia. German Empire
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| Died | September 25, 1986 (aged 88) |
| Citizenship | German and American (1956) |
| Alma mater | University of Munich; University of Göttingen; University of Münster; University of Würzburg |
| Known for | Space medicine, Nazi human experimentation |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Aviation medicine, space medicine, physiology |
Hubertus Strughold (born June 15, 1898 – died September 25, 1986) was a German-born scientist who studied the human body, especially how it works. He was a very important medical researcher. From 1935, he led research in aviation medicine for Hermann Göring's German Air Ministry during World War II.
After the war, in 1947, he moved to the United States as part of Operation Paperclip. This was a secret US program that brought German scientists to America. Strughold then worked for the United States Air Force and NASA in important science roles.
He became known as "The Father of Space Medicine" because he was a pioneer in studying how space travel affects the human body and mind. However, after he died, people looked more closely at what he did in Nazi Germany during World War II. Questions about his possible involvement in human experiments during that time greatly affected his reputation.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Education
Hubertus Strughold was born in Westtünnen-im-Hamm, a town in Germany, on June 15, 1898. After finishing high school in 1918, he studied medicine and science at several universities in Germany. He earned his first doctorate degree in 1922 and his medical degree in 1923.
He continued his studies and became a professor of how the body works (physiology). During this time, he became very interested in aviation medicine. This field studies how flying affects pilots and passengers. He worked with a famous pilot from World War I, Robert Ritter von Greim, to learn about how flying at high altitudes affects people.
In 1928, Strughold traveled to the United States for a year to do more research. He visited top medical labs at places like Harvard University and the Mayo Clinic. He focused on aviation medicine and human physiology. He returned to Germany in 1929 and became a full professor in 1931.
Work for Nazi Germany
Because of his connection with Robert Ritter von Greim, who became Adolf Hitler's personal pilot, Strughold met important people in the Nazi government. Even though he never officially joined the Nazi Party, he was appointed director of the Research Institute for Aviation Medicine in Berlin in 1935. This institute was part of the German Air Ministry.
Under Strughold's leadership, this institute became Germany's leading center for aviation medicine research. They studied how high altitudes and very fast flights affected the body. They also developed the idea of "altitude chambers" to test how long pilots could stay conscious at high altitudes. From 1936, Strughold also helped edit a medical journal called Luftfahrtmedizin (Aviation Medicine).
Most of the research done by Strughold's institute was paid for by the German armed forces, especially the Luftwaffe (German Air Force). This was part of Germany's plan to build up its military before World War II. When the war started in 1939, his organization became part of the Luftwaffe's medical team. Strughold became an officer in the German air force, eventually reaching the rank of Colonel.
Controversies and Human Experiments
In October 1942, Strughold attended a medical meeting in Nuremberg. At this meeting, an SS doctor named Sigmund Rascher gave a presentation. He talked about "scientific" experiments he had done with the Luftwaffe medical team. These experiments used prisoners from the Dachau concentration camp as test subjects.
These terrible experiments included putting prisoners in freezing water and in chambers that simulated high altitudes. Some prisoners were forced to drink seawater, and others had surgery without pain medicine. Many prisoners died because of these experiments.
It is still debated what Strughold knew or did about Rascher's experiments. However, some younger Luftwaffe doctors who were involved in these cruel acts at Dachau had close connections to Strughold. These connections were through his institute and the Luftwaffe medical corps.
After Germany surrendered in May 1945, British forces placed Strughold under house arrest. He later told Allied officials that he did not know about the terrible acts at Dachau, even though he had a high position and attended the 1942 meeting. He was never officially charged with any wrongdoing by the Allies.
However, a document from the Nuremberg Trials in 1946 listed Strughold as one of thirteen people possibly involved in war crimes at Dachau. Also, some of Strughold's colleagues from the war, like his former assistant Hermann Becker-Freyseng, were found guilty of crimes against humanity related to the Dachau experiments. Strughold provided written statements to help defend his accused colleagues during these trials.
Work for the United States
In October 1945, Strughold went back to teaching at Heidelberg University. He also started working for the United States Army Air Forces. He became the Chief Scientist of their Aeromedical Center. In this role, Strughold helped edit a book called German Aviation Medicine in World War II. This book summarized what German aviation researchers had learned during the war.
In 1947, Strughold was brought to the United States as part of Operation Paperclip. He was assigned to Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. There, he began some of the first research into the medical challenges of space travel. He worked with another "Paperclip Scientist" named Dr. Heinz Haber.
In 1948, Strughold created the terms "space medicine" and "astrobiology" to describe this new field of study. The next year, he became the first Professor of Space Medicine at the United States Air Force's new School of Aviation Medicine (SAM). This was one of the first places to study "astrobiology" and the "human factors" of sending people into space. He also described "Mars jars," which are containers that copy the atmosphere of Mars. These are now important tools in astrobiology.
Under Strughold, the School of Aviation Medicine did important studies on things like controlling the air in spacecraft and how weightlessness affects the body. They also studied how space travel could mess with normal sleep cycles. In 1951, Strughold changed how people thought about space travel. He wrote a paper that suggested space wasn't just far away, but that its effects gradually increased as you went higher.
Between 1952 and 1954, he supervised the building of the space cabin simulator. This was a sealed room where people stayed for long periods to see how space travel might affect their bodies and minds.
Strughold became a US citizen in 1956. In 1962, he was appointed Chief Scientist of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Aerospace Medical Division. At NASA, Strughold was key in designing the pressure suit and life support systems used by the Gemini and Apollo astronauts. He also directed the special training for the doctors and medical staff of the Apollo program before the planned mission to the Moon. Strughold retired from NASA in 1968.
Awards and Honors
Hubertus Strughold was known as The Father of Space Medicine.
- Theodore C. Lyster Award, Aerospace Medical Association, 1958
- Louis H. Bauer Founders Award, Aerospace Medical Association, 1965
Hubertus Strughold Award
The Hubertus Strughold Award was created by the Space Medicine Branch (now the Space Medicine Association). This award honored Dr. Hubertus Strughold, "The Father of Space Medicine." It was given every year from 1963 to 2012 to a member who made great contributions to space-related medical research.
See also
- Aerospace Medical Association
- Human factors and ergonomics
- Nazi human experimentation
- Sigmund Rascher
