THE WEIGHT OF THE WORD, chapter five of eight: Walter Stoeckel, Schauta-Stoeckel Procedure

Walter Stoeckel, born in East Prussia in 1871, was a prominent gynecologist whose career spanned over four decades in several major German universities. He made lasting contributions to urogynaecology, notably co-developing the Schauta-Stoeckel radical hysterectomy technique, and played a central role in shaping modern gynecological clinics.

As early as 1927, he advocated for forced sterilization of people with hereditary illnesses, even when diagnoses were uncertain. These views were echoed in Nazi legislation after 1933, which institutionalized sterilization and restricted abortion for “hereditarily diseased” women.

He publicly praised Nazi goals in his 1933 address and personally endorsed Hitler through symbolic gestures. His standing within the regime was solidified by roles such as advisor to Karl Brandt and physician to Magda Goebbels.

Despite these associations, after World War II, Stoeckel continued his academic work in East Berlin and later claimed to have avoided politics, asserting that science should remain apolitical. He died in 1961, leaving behind a complex legacy marked by both medical innovation and complicity in the Nazi state’s inhumane policies.