Syndrome K: Mysterious disease and spectacular trick for Nazi Germany?

During the escape from the Nazi disaster genocide, a group of Jews escaped with a mysterious disease that made their enemies 'run like rabbits'.

The Nazis' brutal anti-Semitism policy in World War II led to a horrific massacre in human history. Jews all over Europe were hunted and killed. But it was also during that dark period, still shining with examples of heroes who stood up to use justice to defeat the evil.

Besides armed struggles or intrigues to assassinate the top leaders of Nazi Germany, there are also clever clever initiatives that help save dozens of lives without costing a bullet arrow.

In the autumn of 1943, Nazi Germany began to arrest Jews in Italy and exiled thousands of people to devastating concentration camps. The increasingly expanding and spreading octopus of the genocide policy forced the Jews to find every possible shelter, and one of them was Fatebenefratelli Hospital.

Perched on a small boat-shaped piece of land floating in the heart of the Tiber River in Rome, Fatebenefratelli is a small hospital founded in the 16th century and has a "tradition" associated with dangerous infectious diseases.

With its isolated location, this place was used to isolate plague patients in the 17th century, and was also the shelter of patients during the cholera epidemic in Rome in 1832. But when German troops struck Fatebenefratelli Hospital to hunt down Jews, they had to shudder at a mysterious disease that had never been heard of, that was "K Syndrome".

Fatebenefratelli Hospital.

Not mentioned in the literature, and also completely unfamiliar to all who do not work at Fatebenefratelli Hospital, K Syndrome is then described ambiguously with only a few nervous manifestations such as convulsions. , dementia, paralysis, and the final outcome is death from suffocation.

After being explained by the doctors about the highly infectious nature of K Syndrome and what was waiting for them behind the closed room, the Nazis were so scared that no one dared to enter. The loud coughing sound that came from inside whenever they passed by would erode the spirit and will of the soldiers.

They hurried to leave Fatebenefratelli Hospital, leaving behind dozens of Jews with scary illness.

So what is the end of "K Syndrome ", and why is it not known to the medical community both before and after this incident?

The unimaginable simple answer was only revealed more than sixty years later by Dr. Vittorio Sacerdoti , one of the people directly involved in making the whole thrilling story.

Fatebenefratelli Hospital was in fact not only a conventional treatment facility, but also in 1938 was transformed into a safe haven for the Jewish community by the chief doctor Giovanni Borromeo after the Italian government enacted the law. except them.

With the support of colleagues, Borromeo helped many Jews and anti-fascists come here to flee.

Among them was Vittorio Sacerdoti, a young Jewish doctor who had been falsified by Borromeo to work in the hospital, and Adriano Ossicini, a psychiatrist advocating against fascism and was arrested. Detention many times, was also given the opportunity to work and with many other doctors operating a secret resistance facility right at Fatebenefratelli Hospital.

Dr. Giovanni Borromeo.

In October 1943, when Nazi Germany attacked the Jewish community in Rome, many people fled and were admitted to Fatebenefratelli Hospital as "patients" . That is the starting point for the birth of an unprecedented disease in the history of the world.

In an interview with the BBC in 2004, Dr. Sacerdoti revealed for the first time the truth about this disease that haunted Nazi Germany. Jewish "patients" will be recorded in medical records as a deadly " K Syndrome" , with the K intended to refer to Albert Kesselring, the head of the German army in Rome.

In 2016, Dr. Ossicini, at the age of 96, also confirmed with Italy's La Stampa newspaper about this "dramatic" performance and affirmed that the name "K Syndrome" was his idea.

"K syndrome is recorded in medical records to indicate that the patient is not a disease, but is a Jew . We created those records for Jews as if they were normal patients. , and keep it in case they are asked what kind of disease they are in. It is K Syndrome, implying "I am harboring Jews", as if they are sick, but they are actually healthy.

Among those rescued from the Nazi death scythe, then there was Dr. Sacerdoti's cousin Luciana Sacerdoti, then 10 years old.

The Nazis are very afraid of infectious diseases.(Source: A Science Enthusiast).

She told the BBC about the spectacular trick for the Germans: "On the Nazis to the hospital, someone came to my room and said:" You have to cough, cough a lot because they are scared of coughing. They don't want to be infected with that hideous disease and they won't enter the room. "

That plan succeeded beyond expectation."The Nazis thought it was cancer (often denoted as K) or tuberculosis (also known as Koch's syndrome by the name of the scientist who discovered TB bacteria), and they ran away like rabbits," the doctor said. Sacerdoti recalled.

Thus the drama was screened after more than six decades in secret. The syndrome of K is completely untrue, but it is only a clever and brave initiative of doctors at Fatebenefratelli Hospital to protect Jews who came to flee.

This heroic act was recognized by both the domestic and international community, with the post-war Italian government awarded the Medal of the Victory and the British Silver Medal to Dr. Giovanni Borromeo. After his death in 1961 at his own hospital, he was also given the title "Transnational Integrity" by the Israeli government .

Not only the heroes, but Fatebenefratelli Hospital itself is also credited with the title "Life House" awarded by the International Foundation Raoul Wallenberg, the organization that strongly recognizes and supports activities. help save Jews from genocide.