Brain of Scottish Soldier Reunited with Remains After 85 Years
The brain of a Scottish soldier who died during World War Two has been buried alongside his remains in Germany.
Donnie MacRae passed away in a prisoner of war hospital in 1941, after being captured while fighting in France.
He suffered from a rare neurological condition, and during a post-mortem examination, his brain and part of his spinal cord were removed for further research.
His family was unaware that his brain had been taken until an international group of researchers uncovered this fact nearly 80 years later.
The researchers were examining records of thousands of brains used in research by the Germans during the war, aiming to identify all the subjects and properly commemorate them.
The Ministry of Defence's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) assisted in locating Donnie's relatives, some of whom have since traveled to Germany to participate in a blessing ceremony.
JCCC case worker Nicola Nash told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast that the additional remains had been interred, and the family was given the opportunity to remember Donnie's life and honor his sacrifice.
"It gives them closure and gives them the chance to show how grateful they are because they are there because their relative fought and died for them," she said.
Background on Donnie MacRae
Originally from Gairloch in Wester Ross, Donnie served as a private in the Seaforth Highlanders. He was captured while fighting in France in June 1940 and died the following year at the age of 33.
During the post-mortem examination, his brain was removed and sent to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Psychiatry in Munich.
Donnie's body was initially buried by the Germans and later reburied by the Allies in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Berlin.
While his family knew of his capture and death, they were never informed about the removal of his brain.
Context of Brain Removal and Research
Donnie's brain was one of approximately 2,000 brains taken for research by leading Berlin and Munich research institutes during World War Two. This collection included brains of children killed during the Holocaust.
The brain removals were part of the German plan to lead in medical research.
In total, about 160 small slices of Donnie's brain and spinal cord have been preserved in the archives of the Munich research centre, which was later renamed the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry.
Remains were also taken from various groups, including Polish Jews and Catholics, individuals with mental illness, political prisoners, Belgian resistance fighters, and French and Polish soldiers.
