46 YEARS AGO
Nazi doc nabbed in Brazil
BONN — Dr Joseph Mengele, the physician believed to be responsible for some of the worst atrocities committed at Auschwitz, has been arrested in Mato Grosso, Brazil. The West German authorities, who'd placed a 20,000 Deutschmark bounty on his head, requested extradition. By the time he goes to trial, he'll likely be addressed as "Herr Mengele," as his alma mater, the University of Frankfurt, revoked his MD this month and the University of Munich is set to follow suit and tear up his other medical degree.
Source: The Times of London, 22 July, 1961

51 YEARS AGO
Britain's top medical minds battle homosexuality
LONDON — The love that dare not speak its name is treatable and probably even curable, say doctors in the British Medical Association special committee on homosexuality and prostitution. Dr E E Claxton, committee head and BMA Associate Secretary, holds that homosexuality is far more likely to be caused by moral defect than a physical problem. He presented 14 case histories where homosexual patients were cured through a process similar to Alcoholics Anonymous. The committee report noted that socialist policies like national welfare tend to erode feelings of personal responsibility in the population, which in turn, they say, begets moral aberrations like homosexuality and prostitution.
Source: The Times of London, 16 December, 1955

65 YEARS AGO
Third Reich policies lead to doctor shortages
BERLIN — Hitler's zealous, murderous policy of anti-Semitism is directly harming the Nazi war effort, say diplomatic intelligence sources. The elimination of Jewish doctors is believed to be a serious contributing factor to an acute physician shortage in Germany. Before the war, the nation enjoyed an enviable healthcare ratio of one physician per 1,000 patients. Now, according to official German statistics there's only one doctor per 12,000-15,000 patients.
Source: The Times of London, 29 August, 1942