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Danish Psychiatry During the Nazi Occupation

2006; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 35; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2753/imh0020-74113504011

1557-9328

Jesper Váczy Kragh,

Historical and Scientific Studies

The Nazi occupation of Denmark between April 1940 and May 1945 did not have the same grave consequences for Danish psychiatry as in countries such as Poland, Russia, and France. Only one of the Danish mental hospitals, Oringe, outside the city of Vordingborg in southern Zealand, was evacuated by the Germans, and deportation of "antisocial individuals" to concentration camps was rare. Danish mental hospitals were not marked by starvation, infections, or high mortality during the occupation. To a great extent, the Wehrmacht left the Danes to run their own affairs, Jewish psychiatrists continued their work in the hospitals until the end of 1943, and only rarely did Danish psychiatrists report problems with the occupying power. Paradoxically, the presence of German troops was considered to have unexpected positive effects on psychiatric morbidity among civilians in wartime.