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Ideas of socialdarwinism and eugenics in combination with German nationalism and antisemitism paved the way for doctors joining the Nazi party, 45 per cent of all German doctors became party members. In the early 20th century Swedish medicine and medical education were much influenced by German basic and clinical sciences as well as German eugenics. Early Swedish officials opposed the antisemitic German policy of "rassenhygien". Few Swedish doctors were active antagonists to the nazis, although just a small percentage were members in nazi- or nazisympathizing Swedish organisations, but still many of those sympathizers were influential. The moral catastrophe for the Swedish doctors and medical undergraduates was that a majority opposed asylum for jewish doctors escaping Third Reich. The turn towards a humanistic attitude came when Norwegian and Danish jewish doctors fled from the occupation of their countries. The attitude among Swedish doctors and medical students against jewish refugees have during the last years been on the agenda.

How is research and teaching on Nazism best conducted? Despite the nearly universal condemnation of an unsanctioned "lecture" by a member of a Swedish Nazi party held at Umeå University in December 1997, a number of complex questions have been raised about the role of the researcher and the research object, as well as about the qualitative difference between conducting thorough-going research into Nazism, past and present, and allowing Nazi ideologies to penetrate the universities. An important way of countering the latter is to do more research into Nazism and the Holocaust and produce better, more accessible presentations of the wealth of research already extant. Insight into the nature and essence of Neo-Nazi ideology can hardly be expected to be won through highly-censored and propagandistic "lectures", but rather by closely studying the undergrowth of Nazi rhetoric and White Power music, the internal jargon and propaganda directed toward sympathizers and prospective members. It would be a fateful mistake to try and ignore Nazism, but neither can an open discussion be conducted on its own conditions. Recurring conferences and symposia and interdisciplinary efforts at designing improved study courses on Nazism are important contributions to maintaining the very fundament of our society which these movements reject — the equal rights of all mankind.