ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Otto Warburg: Nazi-era scientist biography reviewed

publication · 2026-04-30

A new biography by Sam Apple examines the life of Otto Warburg, a Nobel Prize-winning biochemist who was Jewish and homosexual yet was protected by the Nazi regime due to his scientific value. Warburg continued his cancer research in Germany throughout World War II, refusing to emigrate despite persecution. The book portrays him as a symbol of the contradictions of the era.

Key facts

  • Otto Warburg was a Nobel Prize-winning biochemist.
  • He was Jewish and homosexual.
  • He was protected by the Nazi regime because Hitler considered him indispensable.
  • Warburg continued his cancer research in Germany until the end of WWII.
  • Sam Apple is the author of the biography.
  • The biography is reviewed in the NZZ.
  • The book is described as a portrait of an epoch.
  • Warburg refused to emigrate despite persecution.

Entities

Artists

  • Sam Apple

Institutions

  • NZZ

Locations

  • Germany

Sources