This research will focus on the postwar period in relation to lives not worth living. This chapter is divided into five sections. The first section is a short introduction to the overall topic. The second part discusses the legal and philosophical language, post-Second World War, in relation to the psychically and mentally ill. This raises the question of whether or not philosophy can be made after 1945 without looking at Auschwitz. Adorno’s categorical imperative: Auschwitz can never ever be repeated, gains prominence in the way of making and proceeding in philosophy and in law this does not include just the Holocaust but also one of the most forgotten groups: the severely mentally and/or physically disabled. The policy of oblivion was practised much quicker than with other human categories. The paradigm of human rights changes substantially immediately after the Second World War The establishment of individual responsibilities for the committed atrocities will be carried out by means of the Nuremberg’s Trials. The third section focuses on the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial, USA vs. Karl Brandt et al. The fourth section analyzes the concepts of post-Auschwitz memory and memory of oblivion. Recovering post-Auschwitz memory implies recreating to the thought process after 1945. Finally, the fifth section draws some conclusions and indicates some further areas for research.
Part of the book: Bioethics