Shocking! Nazi doctor responsible for Thalidomide repeatedly referenced in Irish health files

The Irish Thalidomide Association (ITA) has uncovered shocking new evidence that Dr. Heinrich Mückter - a Nazi physician responsible for the development of Thalidomide at Chemie Grünenthal - was repeatedly referenced in official Irish Department of Health files from the 1950s.

Tonight at 10pm, Virgin Media One will re-air the documentary “Ireland’s Thalidomide Scandal” to mark the first anniversary of its broadcast.

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The ITA continues to investigate Ireland’s role in the global Thalidomide tragedy and to demand accountability as the anticipated closure of this dark stain on the Irish States history still eludes us.

A Dark Connection Revealed

Dr. Mückter, implicated in human experiments in Nazi concentration camps during World War II, later served as Grünenthal’s head scientist. Documents from the Department of Health in the National Archives show that over several years, when requested by the Department of Health, Mückter personally signed statements confirming he was the responsible technical officer overseeing production at Chemie Grünenthal.

These declarations included responsibility for the manufacture and importation of penicillin and other pharmaceutical products distributed in Ireland throughout the 1950s. State files related to Thalidomide have never been disclosed. The facts uncovered so far are the work, over decades, of the ITA’s own search for truth.

Thalidomide, heavily marketed as “safe as a sweet” for morning sickness, was later proven to cause devastating birth defects. Damage caused by Thalidomide included catastrophic disabilities to arms and legs, missing limbs, internal damage and hearing loss.

Globally, an estimated 90,000 pregnancies ended in miscarriage or stillbirth. Of the 10,000 children born alive, half died at birth or within their first year.

Today, around 40 Irish survivors remain, now all in their 60’s and dealing with the pain and life challenges caused by the overuse and misuse of malformed limbs. Our numbers continue to dwindle as beloved members of our Thalidomide family die. And still the State Report on infant deaths caused by Thalidomide in the early 60’s has never been published.

Although the drug was withdrawn internationally in November 1961, The Irish State deliberately chose not to conduct a complete withdrawal, nor did they warn the public. As a result, Thalidomide products remained in medicine cabinets in homes and even on pharmacy shelves for years. A fact acknowledged by the State in other records we are investigating.

For decades, the ITA has called for transparency regarding the Irish States involvement in the Thalidomide story. This new evidence underscores not only the drug’s disturbing origins but also the Irish State’s failure to protect its children.

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Finola Cassidy, ITA Spokesperson:

“It’s hard to describe the sick feeling you get reading documents that could so easily have been buried forever. After 60 years of campaigning we deserve better, we deserve honesty, and basic human decency.

“This discovery proves why our work must go on. But it begs the question - when we tell them what we have found this time, will they tell us ‘yes we already knew, but we were damned if we were ever going to tell you’”.

John Stack, ITA Chairperson:

“The fact that Irish State files contain references to a known Nazi scientist raises fundamental questions. What did officials know at the time, and why have families been kept in the dark for so long?”

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Sharon Clarken, Thalidomide survivor:

“Every day I live with the effects of Thalidomide. I’ve adapted and survived, but what hurts most is knowing the truth was buried. Acknowledging our story is not just about the past – it’s about dignity in the present. My mother deserves nothing less.”

Sandra Dunne, Unacknowledged and ITA representative for Unacknowledged Thalidomide survivors:

“We who have never been acknowledged by the State are left to suffer denied recognition while the truth was hidden away. This isn’t just history – it’s about accountability today. The government owes us honesty, recognition, and action, not silence and further delay.”