Monument to the X-Ray and Radium Martyrs

The world's only memorial to victims of early X-ray and radium research — unveiled in 1936 in the garden of Hamburg's St. Georg Hospital.

The Monument to the X-Ray and Radium Martyrs in the garden of Hamburg's St. Georg Hospital is the only memorial in the world dedicated exclusively to those who died from early medical use of X-rays and radium. Unveiled on 4 April 1936 by the Deutsche Röntgengesellschaft, it bears the names of physicians and researchers from several countries who died as a result of their work with ionizing radiation — before its dangers were fully understood. The memorial's plaques carry around 170 names. The earliest victims died in the 1900s from chronic radiation damage to hands, arms, and internal organs, having worked for years without protection since the hazard was initially underestimated. The monument stands on hospital grounds and is publicly accessible. It is a quiet, little-known memorial to the cost of scientific pioneering.