May 3, 2016–

Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race

We are happy to announce that Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race, a new temporary exhibit, will open June 6th and run until July 31st.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's traveling exhibition Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race examines how the Nazi leadership, in collaboration with individuals in professions traditionally charged with healing and the public good, used science to help legitimize persecution, murder, and ultimately, genocide.

The exhibition opens at the Virginia Holocaust Museum on June 6th and will be on display through October 2nd. According to VHM Director of Collections Tim Hensley, “Deadly Medicine is an important exhibit for the Virginia Holocaust Museum because it helps us discuss our own unfortunate past with eugenics and ‘race science.’ It demonstrates how such policies, when left unchecked, can lead to genocide.”

“Deadly Medicine explores the Holocaust’s roots in then-contemporary scientific and pseudo-scientific thought,” explains exhibition curator Susan Bachrach. “At the same time, it touches on complex ethical issues we face today, such as how societies acquire and use scientific knowledge and how they balance the rights of the individual with the needs of the larger community.”

This exhibition is made possible through the support of The David Berg Foundation, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, The Lester Robbins and Sheila Johnson Robbins Traveling and Temporary Exhibitions Fund established in 1990, and The Dorot Foundation.

This installation was sponsored by the MCV Foundation, VCU Health, VCU Office of Research & Innovation, the VCU School of Medicine, and Bon Secours Richmond Health Care Foundation.