Jewish women dermatologists who escaped the perils of National Socialism: Triumph over adversity

The period of National Socialism (1933-1945), including the Holocaust and World War II, has had a profound impact on dermatology. We identify Jewish women dermatologists who escaped the perils of National Socialism, document their struggles, and describe their contributions to medicine and dermatology. Medical, history, and media databases were searched. Relevant contributions in languages other than English were translated into English. Fourteen dermatologists were identified, and for seven there was sufficient information to describe their lives in more detail: Helen Ollendorff-Curth (née Ollendorff) (1899-1982), Bertha Ottenstein (1891-1956), Sidonie Fürst (1891-1973), Marianne Bauer (née Jokl) (1885-1980), Hedwig Fischer (née Hoffmann) (1888-1983), Vera Shukhman (1900-1987), and Lili Farkas (1899-1992). The challenges that confronted the dermatologists were sizable. Status as a woman, antisemitism, persecution in various forms during National Socialism, murder of family and dermatology colleagues, untimely death of family members in other ways, loss of jobs and status, stress of relocation, and myriad obstacles in a newly adopted country were among the hurdles they faced; nevertheless, collectively, these seven dermatologists made a range of contributions in clinical, academic, and administrative areas. They displayed courage, tenacity, and determination and serve as role models of resilience for current and future generations of women in the dermatology field.