A senior trauma surgeon at a hospital in Austria was suspended and later fired after reportedly saying of an overweight patient that “only Auschwitz would help here.” The offensive comment was revealed in an anonymous letter sent by hospital staff to a local newspaper, which also described a toxic work environment.
In response to the remark, the hospital’s nursing staff refused to accompany the doctor on his rounds. Lower Austria’s Health Agency swiftly suspended the doctor and dismissed him several days later.
Austria has strict laws prohibiting any expressions linked to Nazi ideology or the use of Nazi symbols.
The incident, which sparked outrage among staff and health officials, took place at the state-run Landesklinikum Horn hospital in Lower Austria. The scandal came to light when employees sent an anonymous letter to the local newspaper MeinBezirk, signed by “a group of concerned employees from the trauma surgery department at Horn Hospital.” The staff said they chose to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation.
“We are reaching out to you with great urgency and deep shock, as a horrifying incident at Horn Hospital has crossed every line of professionalism and humanity,” they wrote. The allegations, directed at the senior doctor—whose name is known to the newspaper—were so severe that they prompted swift disciplinary action.
At the heart of the complaint is the degrading remark the doctor allegedly made during a meeting with a patient. The comment not only horrified colleagues but, according to the letter, also amounted to a trivialization of Nazi crimes. The letter further described a climate of bullying, shouting and an unbearable work environment.
“The nursing staff refuses to accompany him on rounds. This behavior is a disgrace to Horn Hospital and must have immediate consequences,” the letter stated.
After receiving the letter, the local newspaper immediately contacted the hospital and the regional health agency. Matthias Hofer, spokesperson for the state health agency of Lower Austria, responded swiftly: “Once the allegations became known, on Friday, through hospital staff, the senior doctor was suspended,” Hofer said. “His dismissal could only take place on Tuesday morning due to a public holiday on Monday. His employment was formally terminated that day.”
Hofer stressed that immediate termination was necessary. “There is absolutely no place for such behavior, even amid the shortage of doctors in our field,” he said.
Hofer added that such statements “directly contradict our core values, must be strongly condemned, and will not be tolerated in any form.”
The local newspaper also reached out to the Horn District Labor Office. Andreas Riedl, head of the regional office of Austria’s Public Employment Service, expressed shock but confirmed: “We have not received any labor law complaint regarding this incident, which is, of course, completely outrageous.”
For now, police say they are not involved. Stephan Loidl, spokesperson for Lower Austria Police, said: “We have no information on this case so far, neither at the district level nor at the local police station. We can only speak of criminal consequences if a complaint is filed.”
Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the former doctor will face any additional professional or legal consequences beyond his dismissal.