The Genius Doctor Who Tricked The Nazis

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Executive Producer: Doctor Mike
Production Director and Editor: Dan Owens
Managing Editor and Producer: Sam Bowers
Editor and Designer: Caroline Weigum
Editor: Juan Carlos Zuniga
Written by Doctor Mike and Sam Bowers
Fact-Checking by Lindsey Fitzharris
Animation by Hootan Poorzaki

* Select photos/videos provided by Getty Images *

** The information in this video is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and information, contained in this video is for general information purposes only and does not replace a consultation with your own doctor/health professional **

[AngieWinter-dyyh]

In high school we had a regular substitute teacher who grew up in Germany and was forced into being one of Hitlers youth. He was about 13 of maybe 14 when he actually met Hitler.
He spent his time with us telling the horrific stories of what he personally witnessed. He wanted us to know the truth to protect the future. He hated what was happening in his country and made it his life mission to educate others because he didn’t want it to happen again.

[optimusprime]

Dr Mike I revived a new born kitten with chest compressions chest compressions chest compressions! That kitten is thriving now and very vocal 😊

[yeb]

Dr. Weigl may have been disgraced at the time of his death, but in 2003, Yad Vashem recognized and awarded him as one of the "Righteous Among the Nations", nonJews who saved the lives of Jewish people during the Holocaust

[Felix--]

I'm Jewish, my family is Jewish, my great grandma was in Poland during WW2, her family, and herself, were sent to one of the first concentration camps. She was the only one to survive, and she gave way for our family. I am glad you combat misinformation and spread the truth. Thank you 🫶

[KiaraBerman]

I’m Jewish and I just wanted to say it’s really appreciated to hear about stories like these which I’ve never heard myself and it’s really good to know that you’re not a Holocaust denier

[AbigailKrupnick]

As an Ashkenazi Jew, I appreciate videos like this which combat misinformation, not only about medicine, but also about the Jewish experience of the Holocaust. Sometimes it's hard to comprehend tragedies like this, so breaking down parts of it into smaller stories is really helpful.

[krazkat]

I really enjoy these historical medical documentary style videos. I find them fascinating. Keep them coming Dr. Mike!

[crownclowncreations]

It both scares and infuriates me, that we still have Holocaust deniers to this day! Thank you so much for helping put to light, both the horrors that occurred, and the brave sacrifices that were made.

[blakemccabe]

Thank you for doing this video. As a Jew, and a world history high school teacher, this is great info and made in a way that I can show my students. It's a great balance of animation and actual footage to make it serious but appropriate. This is info many people do not know.

[Sam]

Dr Mike, during times like these, where history, and discussions on Nazis are being suppressed unless they're "sensationalized"(at least in the US), thank you so much for being factual and for talking about this.

I really hope YouTube doesn't suppress this video, or worse, somehow take it down.

[mj_ultra]

I'm an Ashkenazi Jew and these videos are crucial to making sure history is not swept under the rug. Thank you for this informative video on resistance!

[lipstickcloud]

Thanks for telling their story! They were incredibly brilliant, and brave.
You have a talent for telling stories in such a engaging and sympathetic way. You're so respectful.

[jeonmihika]

You have excellent narration skills! Please never stop posting videos regarding inspiring stories in the field of medicine, I have never in my entire life sat so patiently and heard one narrate a story, really impressive.

[KirstenKrafticeblink]

In the third grade, I was accidentally doodling a swastika as I didn't know it was bad. This was 1977/78. I saw the markings on walls as grafitti in parts of San Jose, CA. There was a problem with skinheads. Anyway, my third grade teacher saw me and got upset about what I was doing. Mrs. Hubert was Jewish and had lost family in WWII. She had me read The Diary of Anne Frank and a book called Friedrich by Peter Richter. Both are related to being young Jewish people in Germany. I want to thank Mrs. Hubert for making my lack of knowledge as a teachable moment.

[נעמיכהן-רל]

My grandfather survived Auschwitz, lost most of his family but still never gave up hope and believed that people are good at their core.
We will never forget these stories of every brave person who survived, and everyone who didn't.
Thank you for your clear voice, Doctor Mike ❤

[nancyzehr]

...a year later she died of typhus...
the irony

[MarinKarin]

Thank you for not letting these horrific events be forgotten in a time where people look to erase it. 🙏

[sdzielinski]

Primo Levi, a chemist, novelist, and chronicler of Auschwitz, wrote that lab duty was a prize assignment for the prisoners. They had better rations, which were inadequate anyway, meaningful work and were spared a quick trip to the gas. Fleck was fortunate that he had something the Nazis wanted. He too would have been sent to the gas if he had failed.

Levi survived and lived long enough that he could document the barbarism he witnessed. He allegedly ended his life in 1987.

[martymohawk]

If this story isn't already a movie, it should be. The fact that Dr. Fleck survived what is possibly the absolute worst that life can throw at someone, reunited with his family, and saved so many lives while also combatting the Nazis through his sabotage, a sabotage that would have gotten him instantly executed had it been found out, is just a perfect story of overcoming and bravery.

And the bittersweet ending of Dr. Weigl's unfair accusations after he saved so many lives, the irony of Dr. Ding's wife dying of the very disease he claimed to have cured by stealing another man's work, and the irony of the Nazi outrage when they finally discovered the plot all too late... that's cinema right there, and it's all real occurrences.

[mrjazz]

I'm really glad a person with such popularity is using it to spread knowledge and facts. That's a good person. Well done Dr. Mike.