Leonardo Conti Chief physician of the Third Reich. Date of Birth: 24.08.1900 Country: Germany

1. Leonardo Conti: The Chief Physician of the Third Reich
2. Responsibility for the Destruction of the Mentally and Incurably Ill
3. Biography
4. Chief of Imperial Health and State Secretary
5. Political Career and Tragic End

Leonardo Conti: The Chief Physician of the Third Reich

Leonardo Conti (1900-1945) was the chief physician of the Third Reich. He was born on August 24, 1900, in Lugano, Switzerland. After receiving his medical education, he settled in Berlin and started his medical practice. In 1923, he joined the SA (Sturmabteilung) and became the first physician of the stormtrooper units. He led the establishment of the SA Medical Corps and was the founder of the National Socialist Union of Physicians. In 1932, he became a deputy to the Prussian Landtag. In 1939, Hitler appointed Conti as the head of Imperial Health and the state secretary of the Ministry of Health of Prussia.

Responsibility for the Destruction of the Mentally and Incurably Ill

In these positions, Conti was responsible for the destruction of a large number of mentally and incurably ill individuals during the campaign for "cleansing the Nordic race." In 1941, he was elected to the Reichstag and was granted the rank of SS-Gruppenführer (Lieutenant General). In 1945, he took his own life in the Nuremberg prison.

Biography

A Swiss citizen, Conti was the son of a postal director in Lugano. He received his medical education in Berlin and Erlangen. In 1918, he co-founded the anti-Semitic Combat Union. He participated in the Kapp Putsch in 1920. From 1923 onwards, he served in various government positions and then practiced privately in Berlin for eight years. In 1923, he joined the SA and soon became its chief physician. Under Conti's leadership, the SA Medical Corps was formed. He was one of the founders of the National Socialist Union of Physicians (1929) and held the position of Imperial Leader from 1929 to 1945.

In 1930, Conti joined the SS. From May 1932 until the end of 1933, he served as a deputy of the Prussian Landtag, and from the summer of 1932, he was a member of the Prussian State Council. From February 1933, he served as a commissioner for special assignments at the Prussian Ministry of the Interior. In April, he became a ministerial councilor, and from January 1934, he was a Prussian state councilor. He authored works on racial policy, including "What is Race?" (1934).

Chief of Imperial Health and State Secretary

On April 20, 1939, Conti was appointed as the head of Imperial Health, and on August 28, 1939, he became the state secretary of the Imperial Ministry of the Interior for the sanitary service and public health. He supervised health-related matters. On September 24, 1939, he took charge of the Health Department of the NSDAP and was awarded the title of Imperial Health Leader (Reichsgesundheitsführer).

In the mid-1939, Conti received a task from Hitler to develop and implement a system of measures for the "euthanasia" - the extermination of mentally and incurably ill individuals. However, Conti refused, citing the absence of special authority and only an oral order. As a result, the implementation of "euthanasia" was handed over to Reichsleiter Philipp Bouhler. Conti later provided assistance to Bouhler and Karl Brandt in carrying out the measures of the "euthanasia" program.

Political Career and Tragic End

Conti became a deputy of the Reichstag in 1941. He was arrested by the Allies and took his own life in prison.