Hermann Werner Siemens

Hermann Werner Siemens (20 August 1891 (Charlottenberg) -1969) was a German dermatologist who first described multiple skin diseases and was one of the inventors of the twin study. Siemens' work in twin studies is influential in modern genetics and is used to address the environmental and genetic impacts upon traits. Siemens was involved in racial hygiene and affiliated with the Nazi Party.

Early life and career

Siemens studied at the Friedrich Wilhelm University of Berlin and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, receiving his doctorate in 1918.

Siemens studied under J. Jadssohn in Breslau and von Zumbusch at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. He became well known for his twin studies and work on genetics in dermatology. In 1929, Siemens was appointed as the first professor of the new dermatology department at Leiden University. There he continued researching genetics, but his department worked mainly as a clinic, where he and his team carried out clinical trials. These included research on the topical "right-left-method", which involved the application of two different kinds of medicine to either half of the body. Siemens retired in 1964 and was succeeded by his formal pupil, M. K. Polano, who had been head of the Dermatology Department at the Municipal Hospital in The Hague. Siemens' research into hereditary diseases at this time gained criticism within the Nazis for not exploring far enough into the racial aspects of genetics. As a result, the Commission on Higher Education forced the appointment of a different researcher who belonged to the NSDAP, Brodo Spiethoff, and the position was taken away from Siemens. Ichthyosis bullosa of Siemens

While the twin method is generally attributed to Francis Galton's 1875 article "The History of Twins, as a Criterion of The Relative Powers of Nature and Nurture", Galton did not suggest the comparison between identical (monozygotic) and fraternal (dizygotic) twins; instead, Galton suggested using twins to test the power of the environment to change the similarity level between identical twins. Galton's article considered environmental factors such as social conditions and education; here, Galton faced objection that these environmental conditions were only a small part of the circumstances that could affect similarity of twins. With regard to the works of Francis Galton, Siemens commented in 1937,"Galton already saw the possibility of integrating racial-hygienic ideals—just like a new religion—into the national conscious. The national [völkische] state, however, is now called on to be really serious about it. According to its Führer, it is the obligation of the national state 'to declare children as a people's most precious commodity' so that 'it will one day be considered reprehensible to withhold healthy children from the nation [emphasis in original].'"