Henry E. Sigerist, (Nazi) Eugenics, and the "Ideal of Prophylaxis"

A Swiss physician, medical historian, and professor at Johns Hopkins University from 1932 to 1947, Henry E. Sigerist continues to inspire advocates of social medicine, public health, and radical health care reform. He was also an avowed eugenicist who failed to seriously confront Nazism. How did Sigerist's progressive ideology lead him to these positions? We argue that the key link was his concept of "prophylaxis." For Sigerist, prophylaxis was an ideal that empowered the public health profession to take radical measures to prevent sickness and disability. This ideal led to his consistent support of eugenic sterilization and made him reticent to criticize Nazi policy. We argue that Sigerist's prophylactic antidisability bias is not merely a historic phenomenon but continues to exist in public health today. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print October 8, 2026:e1-e7. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308760).