THE WEIGHT OF THE WORD, chapter seven of eight: Julius Hallervorden and Hugo Spatz, Hallervorden-Spatz Syndrome

Julius Hallervorden and Hugo Spatz were prominent German neuropathologists who met in 1921 at the German Research Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, where they began a close scientific collaboration. Their joint study of a rare neurodegenerative disease, characterized by iron accumulation in the brain, led to the naming of Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome.

Hallervorden, trained in Königsberg and Berlin, focused on identifying the biological roots of psychiatric disorders, while Spatz studied neuroanatomy. By the late 1930s, both men had joined the Nazi Party and held senior positions at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin, which was reorganized under Spatz’s leadership to support military and ideological goals.

He later admitted to actively requesting and using these brains, describing them as “wonderful material.” Spatz denied involvement, but evidence suggests otherwise. After the war, both men avoided prosecution and continued their careers; Hallervorden worked at the Max Planck Institute, and Spatz became professor emeritus. Their extensive brain collections were used in research until the 1960s.

Later investigations confirmed that many specimens were from victims of Nazi crimes. In the late 20th century, professional societies and institutions began distancing themselves from their legacy, with awards renamed and research initiated to uncover the full extent of their complicity.