Gunther von Hagens

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Gunther von Hagens (2000)

Gunther von Hagens (born January 10, 1945 in Alt Skalden / Wartheland (today: Skalmierzyce), as Gunther Gerhard Liebchen ) is a German doctor , anatomist and entrepreneur. He is the inventor of plastination , a permanent method of preserving dead bodies by replacing cell fluid with reactive plastics.

Life, education

Von Hagens was born in the Reichsgau Wartheland as Gunther Gerhard Liebchen . From the age of 6 to 20 he lived in Greiz (Thuringia). After graduating from high school in evening classes at the adult education center (Abendoberschule), he worked as an assistant nurse in the Greiz hospital and in a pharmacy.

From 1965 he studied medicine at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena . After demonstrating against the violent suppression of the Prague Spring in 1968 and attempting to “escape from the republic” in Gera , he was imprisoned in Cottbus and ransomed by the Federal Republic as a political prisoner in 1970 for 40,000 Deutschmarks .

From 1970 to 1973 he studied medicine at the University of Lübeck and after the state examination he worked as an assistant doctor in the Inselkrankenhaus on Helgoland , then in Heidelberg at the Department of Anesthesia and Emergency Medicine at the University Clinic , where he received his doctorate in 1975 with a dissertation on the subject of the effect the intravenous narcotics etomidate , propanidide , methohexital and the inhalation narcotics nitrous oxide , halothane and ethrane on the lower esophageal sphincter . In the same year he married Cornelia von Hagens, whose name he adopted.

Since 1977 von Hagens in Heidelberg has been working on the impregnation of anatomical specimens and thus invented plastination. There he founded Biodur Products in 1978 , a company for the sale of corresponding polymers and devices, and in 1993 the Institute for Plastination.

In 2010 it became known that he had been suffering from idiopathic Parkinson's Syndrome (IPS), an incurable nerve disease, since 2008 . Von Hagens stated that he could only speak halfway intelligibly thanks to two electrodes that were implanted in his brain.

Gunther von Hagens is married to the doctor Angelina Whalley and has three children from his first marriage.

Professional activity

Since 1996 shows von Hagens' Institute for Plastination under the title Body Worlds ( Body Worlds ) public exhibitions of plastinated corpses, visited the world a lot, but also were highly controversial. With over 50 million visitors, the Body Worlds became the world's most successful exhibition and is the only anatomical exhibition to have a body donation program. Von Hagens defended the exhibition of human bodies through press work and in discussions.

Not least because of the public discussions about plastination, von Hagens initially relocated his work more and more to China , where in 2001 he founded Von Hagens Dalian Plastination Ltd. and was appointed honorary and visiting professor. As a result, after further public discussions, he ended his collaboration with the Medical Academy in Novosibirsk .

In 2004 von Hagens was appointed visiting professor at the New York University School of Dentistry, College of Dentistry (NYUCD). There he put u. a. converted anatomy classes to plastinates to train dentistry students using real human heads.

In February 2005, von Hagens began to plastinate elephants that had previously lived in the Neunkirchen Zoo (Saar) . The bodies of the naturally deceased elephant cows Samba and Chiana were brought to Heidelberg for plastination as an animal donation and were shown for the first time in spring 2010 as part of the “Body Worlds of Animals” at the Neunkirchen Zoo. The new special exhibition made guest appearances in Mannheim, Vienna, Cologne, London and the Walter Zoo in Gossau SG and was then shown outside of Europe.

In 2006 von Hagens acquired the building of a former cloth factory in Guben (from 1945 until after 2000 also the seat of the city administration) and founded the company "Plastinate GmbH" there. The opening was accompanied by protests by some citizens who saw Hagens' work as a violation of human dignity . From November 2006 onwards, up to 200 employees were producing plastinates here, and the history of anatomy and plastination was presented in the “Plastinarium” exhibition, and the method was presented in a workshop. After closing in December 2008 and a renovation, the exhibition reopened as an "Anatomical Competence Center" in May 2010. Because of his progressive Parkinson's disease, von Hagens was unable to pursue his plans for a plastination factory in Guben and had to organize production independently of himself. As a result, 130 employees had to be laid off in Guben in December 2010. In January 2011 von Hagens' only son Rurik von Hagens took over the commercial management.

Von Hagens continually developed his method of plastination so that it can be applied to large specimens - most recently even to a whole elephant. The anatomical preparations of human and animal objects carried out in this way represent a major step forward in the development of anatomical preparations because of their authenticity and exceptional quality.

Controversy

Human dignity and art

The way in which his preparations of human corpses are presented, taking aesthetic and artistic aspects into account, is often rejected for religious, ethical and aesthetic reasons.

Public Sections

Von Hagens conducted public dissections of human bodies in London in November 2002 , despite massive protests, including from the British government. Hagens asked for an entrance fee; the section was recorded so that it could later be shown on television and used further. Von Hagens planned similar events in Germany, but canceled them after critical reactions from the public.

Origin of the donor corpses

In January 2004, Der Spiegel magazine alleged that von Hagens used the bodies of Chinese execution victims for his exhibits. However, the publisher of the magazine later issued a cease and desist declaration undertaking not to uphold and disseminate these claims any further. In spring 2005, von Hagens was able to obtain an injunction against Spiegel Online for spreading the same allegation , as well as against other media such as a. ZDF and NDR. In an interview with ABC's news magazine 20/20 , which had again researched the origin of the bodies, von Hagens admitted in early 2008 that he had stopped using bodies from China and that he had cremated some bodies with head injuries have. A few days later, without withdrawing the statement as such, he restricted this interview statement to the effect that it did not affect the corpses exhibited in the “Body Worlds”. In a press release, von Hagens relativized his statements regarding the origin of the body; Since English is not his mother tongue, he expressed himself ambiguously: He announced that he had already decided in 2005 not to accept any “secondary plastination work” or “contract plastination” involving the body, body parts or organs to be plastinated were supplied by clients such as universities. For this reason, he completely gave up plastination and dissection of human bodies in China in 2006. In fact, at no time did he use Chinese corpses for the Body Worlds exhibitions, only bodies from his own body donation program. Von Hagens regretted that his statements, taken out of context, had led some journalists to wrong conclusions.

Sale of plastinates

In 2008 von Hagens stated that he would refrain from the publicly offered sale of plastinates to private individuals as well. According to the newspaper Bild , the offer previously distributed by him included, for example, a “collection of 16 transparent horizontal panes (head, neck, torso, extremities) standard quality (fragile): 1400 euros. Robust quality (unbreakable): 2800 euros ".

Sex plastinates

After he had already done this in Berlin without any restrictions, von Hagens wanted to show a plastinated act of love ("floating act") in his Augsburg Body Worlds exhibition in August 2009 . However, the city of Augsburg stepped in the day before the planned presentation and threatened von Hagens with a fine of 10,000 euros if he showed drugs during sexual acts. The plastinate in question was then shown wrapped in gold foil. In a separate room, to which access was only permitted from the age of 16, were photos of the controversial property. The object was also banned by the city in the subsequent exhibition in Cologne, and an urgent application was rejected by the Cologne Administrative Court. In later exhibitions, e.g. For example, in Leipzig 2010 or Ludwigsburg 2012, sex plastinates could be seen undisguised in an area accessible from the age of 16.

Alleged abuse of title

The 2006 ruling by the Heidelberg Regional Court against von Hagens on charges of misuse of the title was overturned by the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court . The documents published by Hagens with “Prof. Dr. Gunther von Hagens "(a police report 2002, a meeting note and a power of attorney for a lawyer 2003), were typed by third parties with the name" Prof. Dr. Gunther von Hagens ”has been provided, von Hagens himself only signed with handwritten“ Gunther von Hagens ”. Von Hagens was appointed visiting professor by the Dalian University Medical Faculty in China in 1996 and 1999 . The Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court did not respond to the question of whether he was therefore allowed to use the title of professor "because the conduct he is accused of is not punishable". However, it pointed out that, according to decisions by the Ministry of Science in North Rhine-Westphalia, von Hagens may initially label his professor title with the designation of origin “RC” for “Republic of China” and later with the addition “(PRC)” for “People's Republic of China”.

The Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia (OVG) ruled on March 14, 2011 in the 2nd instance that Gunther von Hagens was allowed to use his Chinese visiting professor title in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Hesse without the designation of origin that the Ministry of Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia had specified for it. The Ministry's incorrect view contributed to the charges being brought by the Heidelberg Public Prosecutor's Office. Before the Heidelberg district court , two employees of the ministry had testified that North Rhine-Westphalian law determined exactly how the title should be used. The District Court based its conviction on this legally incorrect statement, stated the OVG in its reasoning for the judgment. Revision was not allowed. The Federal Administrative Court then overturned the decision because of a formal error. On July 5, 2012, Hagens' acquittal was confirmed again by the Münster Higher Administrative Court and it was established that he should have been allowed to use the title from the outset without any additions.

Despite the legal assessment, Gunther von Hagens was often referred to in the media as a “prominent impostor” - for example on February 23, 2011 in the course of the Pro7 reporting on the plagiarism affair of ex-Minister zu Guttenberg . Von Hagens therefore sued the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for unjustified criminal prosecution and the reputation-damaging press coverage for 2.2 million euros in damages before the Düsseldorf Regional Court . In a settlement reached before the Düsseldorf Regional Court in June 2014 with the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of Science , a compensation payment of around 210,000 euros was agreed for von Hagens.

Feature films

Plastination , invented by von Hagens, is one of the foundations for Stefan Ruzowitzky's film Anatomie from 2000 with u. a. Franka Potente and Anna Loos . The corpses in the film are modeled on his plastinates from Heidelberg University.

In Tom Tykwer's award-winning film Drei (2010), a scene in the body worlds in the Berlin Postbahnhof was filmed and integrated as an important storyline.

In the film adaptation of the James Bond novel Casino Royale , which premiered on November 14, 2006, von Hagens' body worlds exhibition can be seen for the first time on the big screen. One scene shows a game of poker with plastinated bodies and Gunther von Hagens in a one-second appearance in which he portrays himself.

Works (selection)

  • Heidelberg plastination stapler . In: The Current Potential of Plastination . Anatomical Institute of Heidelberg University, Heidelberg 1985/86 (together with Klaus Tiedemann and Wilhelm Kriz)
  • Body worlds. Insights into the human body. Exhibition catalog . 1997. State Museum for Technology and Work in Mannheim, Heidelberg 1997, ISBN 3-9804930-3-2 (together with Kai Budde and others)
  • Body worlds. The fascination of the real. Catalog . Häfner & Jöst, Edingen 2004
  • The human body. Section anatomy and tomography . Ullstein Mosby, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-86126-122-7 (together with Lynn J. Romrell, Michael H. Ross and Klaus Tiedemann)
  • Sectional anatomy of the human brain. A photographic atlas of plastinated series cuts . Steinkopff Verlag, Darmstadt 1990, ISBN 3-7985-0780-5 (together with Angelina Whalley, Rene Maschke and Wilhelm Kriz)

literature

  • Liselotte Hermes da Fonseca: Scientific transcendence of the body worlds. Abolition of the "restriction of freedom" by life, death and body . In: Wolf Gerhard Schmidt (ed.): Body images in art and science. Königshausen and Neumann, Würzburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-8260-5429-7 , pp. 107-138.
  • Liselotte Hermes da Fonseca, Thomas Kliche (ed.): Seductive corpses, forbidden decay. “Body Worlds” as a key social event . Pabst, Lengerich 2006, ISBN 3-89967-169-4 .
  • Angelina Whalley, Franz Josef Wetz (Ed.): The border crosser. Encounters with Gunther von Hagens. Arts & Sciences, Heidelberg 2005, ISBN 3-937256-01-6 .
  • Torsten Peuker, Christian Schulz: Who walks over corpses. Gunther von Hagens and his “body worlds”. Links, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-86153-332-4 .
  • Nina Kleinschmidt, Henri Wagner: Finally immortal? Gunther von Hagens - creator of the body worlds. Bastei Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 2000, ISBN 3-404-60493-8 .
  • Wolfgang Wegner: Hagens, Gunther von. In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 526 f.

Web links

Commons : Gunther von Hagens  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ koerperwelten.com ( memento from June 1, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) accessed August 26, 2011
  2. ↑ BZ Berlin accessed January 2, 2011
  3. ↑ "Dr. Death". Gunther von Hagens suffers from Parkinson Welt.de accessed January 28, 2013
  4. ↑ 20 rp-online: 20 demonstrators
  5. ^ "Body Exhibit Inventor Says He's Stopped Using Bodies From China Because Some of Them May Be Those of Executed Prisoners" Exclusive: Secret Trade in Chinese Bodies . ABC News February 14, 2008; Exhibit Stops Using Bodies From China . ABC News February 15, 2008; “In his own words, the German anatomist Gunther von Hagens no longer uses corpses from China for his controversial exhibition“ Body Worlds ”. In an interview with the US television station ABC, he justified this on with the concern that some of the bodies could be the remains of political prisoners; he had to destroy some corpses that he got from China, because injuries aroused the suspicion that it could be the corpses of those who were executed. ” - sz-online  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatic marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.sz-online.de  
  6. ^ Press release by Gunter von Hagens from February 18, 2008 ( Memento from June 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive ).
  7. ^ The corpse professor now sells the dead in slices bild.de, February 4, 2008, accessed on September 3, 2014.
  8. ↑ Corpse taxidermist only shows pictures of lovemaking . InFranken.de, accessed February 22, 2016
  9. ^ Exhibition Body Worlds - "Floating Act" remains prohibited justiz-online, November 13, 2009, accessed on November 26, 2013.
  10. ↑ The blind explore "body worlds" mephisto 97.6, August 19, 2010.
  11. ^ Corpses at the intimate love game Stuttgarter-Nachrichten.de, April 21, 2012, accessed on November 26, 2013.
  12. ^ Higher Regional Court Karlsruhe, Gunther von Hagens speaks of the accusation of unjustified title use free beck-aktuell, accessed on July 25, 2014.
  13. ↑ a b c Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia: Dr. Gunther von Hagens rehabilitated , press release March 15, 2011, accessed September 3, 2014.
  14. ^ OVG North Rhine-Westphalia, judgment of March 14, 2011 , Az. 19 3006/06 (full text).
  15. ↑ Trial of the controversial corpse separator von Hagens was allowed to use the title of professor , Süddeutsche Zeitung of July 5, 2012.
  16. ↑ NRW has to pay Gunther von Hagens 210,000 euros , RP.online, July 24, 2014.
  17. ^ Anatomy. In: moviepilot.de. Retrieved October 26, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Hagens, Gunther von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dear, Gunther Gerhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German anatomist and researcher, initiator of the Body Worlds exhibition
DATE OF BIRTH January 10, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Old Skalds , Wartheland