The site address and name should change - Wegeners Nazi links are deeply offensive

[Cekmsover]

Hi All,

I think this site is a fabulous and much needed resource for those us dealing with such a life changing disease every day, day in day out.

The name of our illness reflecting a German Nazi is deeply offensive to myself and others battling the illness I know.

My family has a long history of being ex serviceman of world war 1 and world war 2, and the term Wegeners has never sat well with me or my grand father who served in World War 2. He is now deceased and every year I march in Anzac day parades shouldering his war medals with great honor.

As you will now see in the medical literature, Friedrich Wegener had his accolades from the ACCP rescinded and a campaign has begun to rename Wegener's granulomatosis to ANCA-associated granulomatous vasculitis

Friedrich Wegener - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I propose Andrew that you re name the URL of this site and have a page dedicated to the history of this illness, however reflect the correct naming of the illness as ANCA Associated Vascuiits or GPA (Granulomatosis with polyangiitis).

Who shares a similar though on this?

Cekmsover.

[pberggren1]

You are in a minority. It is not offensive at all. First off there is no proof he was a Nazi. And even if he was all docs I talk to would rather stay with Wegener's.

[Alysia]

Hi,
I am jewish. The issue of the Holocaust is very close to my heart, as you can guess, and it is in my veins, so to say. eventough my family was not in Europe at the war, I know a lot of Holocaust survivers and I am working with them in psychotherapy as a clinical psychologist. I heard hundreds of testimonies from survivers over the years. I read and see many books and papers and movies of all kinds and went to all possible museums. since I learned to read, I read every paper that I found about the Holocaust.
Yes, Wegener WAS a Nazi. I remember finding papers about that. BUT this is the name of our illness, which btw is a "nazi" illness, and if we want to help others with it, it will be better to remain with that name, to help people to find us. it doesnt matter who's name is it, as long as we can help people. so changing the name might hurt because needed sick ones might not find us.
if we really want to "fight" the Nazi's legacy we need to do it in another ways, name is nothing. as for the other ways, I think that the forum rulles are against politics so I will not add about it.

[Cekmsover]

I don't agree with you at all Phil, your Doctors are more likely to refer to this term as a habit.

For you to say it is not offensive at all is ridiculous, clearly you didn't read the title of my post as many do find it offensive, and you clearly haven't done your research on his background. Some people can wade over history as if it never happened.

[pberggren1]

Take it up with Andrew then. He is the boss. It does not matter if he was a nazi or not. What matters is that he figured out this was a disease. So we owe him some gratitude to say the least.

[mishb]

Hi Cekmsover. We haven't seen you on here for a while - I hope all is well.

You mention that you march in the ANZAC parade each year - are you from Oz or NZ?

We also had this discussion on our facebook group page and decided to name the group WG/GPA Australia and New Zealand.

[Alysia]

We also had this discussion on our facebook group page and decided to name the group WG/GPA Australia and New Zealand.

curious, what was the bottom line, if there was one ?

[BookNut]

Hi,
I am jewish. The issue of the Holocaust is very close to my heart, as you can guess, and it is in my veins, so to say. eventough my family was not in Europe at the war, I know a lot of Holocaust survivers and I am working with them in psychotherapy as a clinical psychologist. I heard hundreds of testimonies from survivers over the years. I read and see many books and papers and movies of all kinds and went to all possible museums. since I learned to read, I read every paper that I found about the Holocaust.
Yes, Wegener WAS a Nazi. I remember finding papers about that. BUT this is the name of our illness, which btw is a "nazi" illness, and if we want to help others with it, it will be better to remain with that name, to help people to find us. it doesnt matter who's name is it, as long as we can help people. so changing the name might hurt because needed sick ones might not find us.
if we really want to "fight" the Nazi's legacy we need to do it in another ways, name is nothing. as for the other ways, I think that the forum rulles are against politics so I will not add about it.

I must say, I DO like the imagery of fighting the Evil Nazi Disease. Ultimately good will triumph over evil.

[LisaT]

I have learned about and been wounded by the horrors of the holocaust since I was old enough to understand, although nobody can ever truly understand such evil. I don't think we owe any nazi any gratitude for anything. Much of what they learned or recorded about medicine came from torturing and experimenting on live human beings. I would prefer to call the disease by a different name. Yes, the disease is a nazi too, but I don't want a nazi's name having anything to do with me or my body. I don't have a choice about having the disease, but we do have a choice about what to call it. Phil, I don't think it's fair to say someone is in the minority unless you've actually taken a poll of all forum members. Has someone done so? It would be easy to change the name but have the site still come up in search results when someone searches the old name. I've reverted to calling it WG just because everyone else does and I don't have the energy to be a revolutionary. But I had to chime in and say I agree with cekmsover.

[LisaT]

You are in a minority. It is not offensive at all. First off there is no proof he was a Nazi. And even if he was all docs I talk to would rather stay with Wegener's.

Offensiveness is subjective. There is no right or wrong, necessarily, and where a line needs to be drawn for legal or other societal reasons it's just drawn where public opinion tends to draw it or the average persons morality draws it. If he thinks it's offensive, then it is,.. To him. But not to you. I think the rest of the world has accepted that he was a nazi and that's why he's been divested of his honours.. What evidence would it take to convince you? People also deny the holocaust, but we all know it happened.