Family Discovers WWII Soldier Buried Without Brain 80 Years Later

The family of Donnie MacRae, a soldier who died as a German prisoner of war in 1941, has learned that he was buried without his brain, a revelation that has come nearly 80 years after his passing. MacRae, who served with the Seaforth Highlanders, was captured during the Battle of St Valery in France in 1940 and succumbed to Guillain-Barre syndrome a year later in a POW hospital.

Following his death, an autopsy was conducted, during which his brain and part of his spinal cord were collected for research purposes. These samples were sent to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Psychiatry in Munich, now known as the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry. Unknown to his family, MacRae's remains were interred by the Germans and later moved by Allied forces to a Commonwealth War Graves cemetery in Berlin.

In 2020, Professor Paul Weindling from Oxford Brookes University contacted MacRae's niece, Libby MacRae, informing her that 160 slices of his brain and spinal cord had been preserved in the institute’s archives. Dr. Sabine Hildebrandt, a lecturer in medical ethics at Harvard Medical School, noted that the removal of tissues for scientific research was a common practice during that era, albeit ethically questionable.

Efforts are underway to properly commemorate MacRae by reuniting his brain samples with his remains. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has agreed to accept the specimens, with plans to allow for proper reinterment later this year. Libby MacRae expressed relief at the news, stating that it is important for Donnie to finally rest in peace.