Gerhard Domagk

German pathologist and bacteriologist (1895–1964) who discovered Prontosil, the first antibacterial sulfonamide drug, opening the era of systemic chemotherapy against bacterial infection. Awarded the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Matters to this vault as one of two confirmed non-political scientists trapped by Carl von Ossietzky's Nobel case: the Nazi regime's 1937 decree banning German acceptance of any Nobel Prize reached Domagk two years later, and he was arrested by the Gestapo in 1939 to enforce his forced decline, receiving the medal only in 1947 and never the prize money.

References

• claim-hitler-decree-forced-domagk-kuhn-nobel-science-declines
• claim-hitler-decree-closed-set-of-three-kuhn-butenandt-domagk
• Capture: 10-inbox/raw/2026-08-29-hop-ossietzky-liu-xiaobo-nobel-bridge.md

Updates

• 2026-09-13: the decree's reach is now confirmed closed at exactly three scientists, not just two — Adolf Butenandt (1939 Chemistry) joins Domagk and Kuhn, per the Committee's own institutional history. (claim-hitler-decree-closed-set-of-three-kuhn-butenandt-domagk)