"The Role of Austrian Anthropologists in Nazi Anthropology: Dora Maria Kahlich-Koener’s Study of Jews in the Tarnow Ghetto, 1941"
Professional Background
Dr. Margit Berner received a Ph.D. in human biology from the University of Vienna and a Master’s in palaeopathology from the University of Göttingen in Germany. During her fellowship at the Museum, she was Curator at the Natural History Museum in Vienna. For her Charles H. Revson Foundation Fellowship for Archival Research, Dr. Berner conducted research for her project “The Role of Austrian Anthropologists in Nazi Anthropology: Dora Maria Kahlich-Koener’s Study of Jews in the Tarnow Ghetto, 1941.”
For her work at the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Dr. Berner has participated in or lead a number of projects including “Anthropology in National Socialism—Projects of the Anthropologischen Abteilung (Anthropological Department) of the Museum of Natural History in Vienna, 1938-1945.” She is the author of several scholarly articles on anthropologic topics. Dr. Berner has taught at the Institute of Physical Anthropology at the University of Vienna and the University of Chicago.
Fellowship Research
During her tenure at the Museum, Dr. Berner conducted archival research on Dora Maria Kahlich-Loener, the anthropologist who initiated and led anthropological studies of Jews in the Tarnow ghetto in 1941. Most studies of this kind focus on the elite scientists, but she studied the roles and involvement of non-leading scientists, especially women, who oftentimes were the ones to initiate and lead experiments. Her study shed light on the understanding of Austrian anthropologists within the scientific context of the Nazi regime.
Dr. Berner was in residence at the Mandel Center from September 17 to December 20, 2002.