Dr Cappell is Chief of Gastroenterology, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Mich

A previously reported the accomplishments of 53 academic gastroenterologists residing in Nazi Germany or Nazi-occupied Europe who had published at least 10 significant full-length articles, or had other outstanding academic achievements, and were killed, exiled, incarcerated, or otherwise punished by the Nazis.¹ After publication, I was surprised to discover an outstanding academic gastroenterologist satisfying these rigorous academic criteria, who had been exiled from Germany in childhood many years before becoming a gastroenterologist.

This tribute is dedicated to Dr Holt: to honor him for his twenty-five years of service on the editorial board of this journal; to honor him for his accomplishments despite adversity; and to correct and further complete the record of gastroenterologic victims of Nazi persecution.

Peter R. Holt was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1930. He was forced out of Nazi Germany and into exile in England in 1938, eight days after Kristallnacht, because of his belonging to a persecuted minority.

Subsequently, he trained as a gastroenterology fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, which is affiliated with Harvard Medical School, under Dr Kurt Isselbacher, who himself was a childhood refugee from Nazi Germany.^1,2 

Dr Holt was Chief of Gastroenterology at St. Luke’s Hospital, in New York City, from 1961 through 1996, and Chief of Gastroenterology at the combined St. Luke’s–Roosevelt program from 1997 through 2000 where he trained more than 100 gastroenterology fellows. He was also Professor of Medicine at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons from 1975 through 2000 and is currently an Adjunct Professor at Rockefeller University.

Dr Holt has authored 164 original articles and 50 book chapters in gastroenterology. Among his major research accomplishments during his distinguished career are: (1) demonstration of the physiologic and clinical role of medium chain triglycerides,³ (2) the resemblance of the aging bowel to precancerous colonic lesions,^4,5 and (3) the chemopreventive effects of calcium in milk against colon cancer.⁶ 

On a personal note, I salute and congratulate my friend and colleague for twenty-five years, Dr Peter Holt, for his outstanding academic achievements in gastroenterology. His accomplishments are even more remarkable given the adversity he faced during childhood.

Readers who know of other gastroenterologists with backgrounds similar to that of Dr Peter Holt’s are invited to contact me. A full description, quantification, and comprehension of the iconographic evil of Nazism may be impossible, even in gastroenterology.

Acknowledgment
Dr Peter Holt verified the facts in this manuscript.

References
1. Cappell MS. The effect of Nazism on medical progress in gastroenterology: the inefficiency of evil. Dig Dis Sci. 2006;51:1137-1158.

2. Braunwald E. Presentation of the Kober medal of the Association of American Physicians to Kurt J. Isselbacher, M.D. J Clin Invest. 2001; 108(suppl):S15-S19.

3. Holt PR. Medium chain triglycerides. A useful adjunct in nutritional therapy. Gastroenterology. 1967;53:961-966.

4. Holt PR, Yeh KY, Kotler DP. Altered controls of proliferation in proximal small intestine of the senescent rat. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988;85:2771-2775.

5. Holt PR, Yeh KY. Colonic proliferation is increased in senescent rats. Gastroenterology. 1988;95:1556-1563.

6. Holt PR, Atillasoy EO, Gilman J, et al. Modulation of abnormal colonic epithelial cell proliferation and differentiation by low-fat dairy foods: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 1998;280: 1074-1079.