Munich anatomy and the distribution of bodies from the Stadelheim execution site during National Socialism.

During the reign of National Socialism (NS) anatomical institutes regularly received bodies of executed prisoners in steadily increasing numbers. After 1939, the execution site at Stadelheim prison in Munich supplied not only Munich anatomy but also the institutes in Erlangen, Innsbruck and Würzburg. Due to the disappearance of the Munich body journals, the exact dimension and procedure of body procurement from Stadelheim remained unknown for 70 years. After consultation of a wide range of sources, including rediscovered fragments of the body journals, it is now possible to give an almost comprehensive account of the developments. This article deals with the attempts at recovering information on body procurement from Stadelheim prison during the NS period, which already indicated the significance of Munich anatomy in organizing the distribution of bodies. Thereafter, it addresses the number and distinct groups of Stadelheim prisoners, executed and delivered to the four anatomical institutes, the differences in the handling of their bodies, and the extent to which in particular Munich anatomy profited from the massive increase in executions. Finally, it unveils the role of the Munich Anatomical Institute in distributing those bodies among the anatomies during the Second World War, making it not only the main beneficiary but also the interim center of this process.