Genital Injuries, War Eunuchs
Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 8:51 am
Chapter 12
GENITAL INJURIES, WAR EUNUCHS, ETC.
Gun Wounds in the Testicles—The Eunuchs of the World War—Steinach's Experiments to Restore Virility —Transplanting of Testicles—Literary Use of Such Material—Woman's Relation to War Cripples—Sexual Pathology—Disappearance of Libido, Erection and Ejaculation—Examples of War Perversion—Sexual Regression and Infantilism—War Neurosis and Sexuality—Sadistic Methods of Treatment—Kaufmann's Shock Cure—Its Terrible Tortures—Cruelty in Psychiatric Wards—Soldiers Deliberately Wound Themselves—Venereal Diseases Self-Inflicted—The Shadow of Death
FOR four and a half long years the war machine whirred and whirled, constantly demanding more human flesh to stuff into its insatiable, cruel maw. Those who fell into its merciless wheels came out, if not dead, at least crippled or undone. It was given to only a few to remain in the "steel bath" for any length of time without sustaining injury of body or soul. A Sittengeschichte of the World War cannot omit these victims of war for the problem of war injuries and war cripplings has numerous connections with questions of sexual life as will appear presently. We shall confine ourselves to an investigation of the problem: how far sexual life was influenced by physical and psychical wounds.
Above all, it was shot wounds in the testicles and also injuries to the spinal marrow which induced a complete disappearance of the sexual functions. Injuries of this sort were not uncommon during the war which explains their frequent occurrence in literature. Yet it appears that poetry gave much more attention to this problem of emasculation during the war than did science. One of these cases became famous in medical literature because the patient became a subject for transplantation experiments. The following report was given by Dr. Robert Lichtenstern: "On June 13, 1915, a twenty-nine-year-old soldier sustained a gun wound on the left thigh which inflicted grave injuries upon the scrotum, both testicles and the urethra. When the patient was brought to the hospital, he noticed that in urinating most of the urine ran out through the wound in the scrotum, only a small portion being voided in the natural way. He was suffering from gangrene of both testicles and serious wounds in the urethra. The next day both gangrened testicles were excised because there was danger of a generalized infection. A few days after this operation, the fever declined and the suppuration as well. The patient voided most of his urine through the perineal wound. As a result of his injuries, the patient's libido had declined tremendously, but in the first two weeks dur ing erotic conversations, he had erections on two occasions.
"On July 7, 1915, he was admitted to the surgical department of the Vienna Hospital and submitted to another examination. He was a large, powerful man with normal internal organs. His whole conduct was distinguished by an indifference to the outside world. There was no trace of testicles and on both sides of the wound there were the granulated stumps of both ligated seminal vesicles, in the middle of which the urethra lay free. The prostate showed, upon rectal examination, a normal size and consistency; the bladder emptied by a catheter was clear. In order to close his urethral wound, a temporary catheter was introduced; in the course of the next fourteen days, his wound became perfectly clear and began to form scar tissue. The opening of the fistula closed so that the catheter could be removed; the patient got up and urinated in the normal way. But he still showed a complete indifference toward everything that happened in the hospital and towards his comrades; he read nothing and manifested no interest whatever in the war. In answer to questions he replied that he had absolutely no libido and no erections. Close observation showed that for practically six weeks until the last day of August, he had no erections at all and that, despite various devices calculated to arouse him, he felt no libido whatever. For the most part the patient sat near his bed or at the window, ate voraciously, slept a lot, and busied himself with absolutely nothing at all. The loss of both testicles resulted in a remarkable increase of adipose trsue, especially around the neck which gave the patient a peculiarly stupid appearance. His facial hair, especially his mustache, fell out completely, and his bodily hair decreased too, especially at the linea alba which became almost hairless so that the pubic hairs were set off horizontally from the abdominal epidermis."
READ THE REST AT: eric.stamen.com/ww1/.../12.Genital%20Injuries_War%20Eun.doc
Paste the link and download the article.
GENITAL INJURIES, WAR EUNUCHS, ETC.
Gun Wounds in the Testicles—The Eunuchs of the World War—Steinach's Experiments to Restore Virility —Transplanting of Testicles—Literary Use of Such Material—Woman's Relation to War Cripples—Sexual Pathology—Disappearance of Libido, Erection and Ejaculation—Examples of War Perversion—Sexual Regression and Infantilism—War Neurosis and Sexuality—Sadistic Methods of Treatment—Kaufmann's Shock Cure—Its Terrible Tortures—Cruelty in Psychiatric Wards—Soldiers Deliberately Wound Themselves—Venereal Diseases Self-Inflicted—The Shadow of Death
FOR four and a half long years the war machine whirred and whirled, constantly demanding more human flesh to stuff into its insatiable, cruel maw. Those who fell into its merciless wheels came out, if not dead, at least crippled or undone. It was given to only a few to remain in the "steel bath" for any length of time without sustaining injury of body or soul. A Sittengeschichte of the World War cannot omit these victims of war for the problem of war injuries and war cripplings has numerous connections with questions of sexual life as will appear presently. We shall confine ourselves to an investigation of the problem: how far sexual life was influenced by physical and psychical wounds.
Above all, it was shot wounds in the testicles and also injuries to the spinal marrow which induced a complete disappearance of the sexual functions. Injuries of this sort were not uncommon during the war which explains their frequent occurrence in literature. Yet it appears that poetry gave much more attention to this problem of emasculation during the war than did science. One of these cases became famous in medical literature because the patient became a subject for transplantation experiments. The following report was given by Dr. Robert Lichtenstern: "On June 13, 1915, a twenty-nine-year-old soldier sustained a gun wound on the left thigh which inflicted grave injuries upon the scrotum, both testicles and the urethra. When the patient was brought to the hospital, he noticed that in urinating most of the urine ran out through the wound in the scrotum, only a small portion being voided in the natural way. He was suffering from gangrene of both testicles and serious wounds in the urethra. The next day both gangrened testicles were excised because there was danger of a generalized infection. A few days after this operation, the fever declined and the suppuration as well. The patient voided most of his urine through the perineal wound. As a result of his injuries, the patient's libido had declined tremendously, but in the first two weeks dur ing erotic conversations, he had erections on two occasions.
"On July 7, 1915, he was admitted to the surgical department of the Vienna Hospital and submitted to another examination. He was a large, powerful man with normal internal organs. His whole conduct was distinguished by an indifference to the outside world. There was no trace of testicles and on both sides of the wound there were the granulated stumps of both ligated seminal vesicles, in the middle of which the urethra lay free. The prostate showed, upon rectal examination, a normal size and consistency; the bladder emptied by a catheter was clear. In order to close his urethral wound, a temporary catheter was introduced; in the course of the next fourteen days, his wound became perfectly clear and began to form scar tissue. The opening of the fistula closed so that the catheter could be removed; the patient got up and urinated in the normal way. But he still showed a complete indifference toward everything that happened in the hospital and towards his comrades; he read nothing and manifested no interest whatever in the war. In answer to questions he replied that he had absolutely no libido and no erections. Close observation showed that for practically six weeks until the last day of August, he had no erections at all and that, despite various devices calculated to arouse him, he felt no libido whatever. For the most part the patient sat near his bed or at the window, ate voraciously, slept a lot, and busied himself with absolutely nothing at all. The loss of both testicles resulted in a remarkable increase of adipose trsue, especially around the neck which gave the patient a peculiarly stupid appearance. His facial hair, especially his mustache, fell out completely, and his bodily hair decreased too, especially at the linea alba which became almost hairless so that the pubic hairs were set off horizontally from the abdominal epidermis."
READ THE REST AT: eric.stamen.com/ww1/.../12.Genital%20Injuries_War%20Eun.doc
Paste the link and download the article.