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Medical Experiments of the Holocaust and Nazi Medicine
Foreword
People must remember the Holocaust as a insult to humanity. The lives lost were
not only great in number, but offered so much to mankind. How the world would
have been different if the millions of souls destroyed could have lived.
Doctors have always been thought of as the saviours of mankind, the healers, and
caretakers of our utter existence. Even ancient civilizations revered the
medicine men as having special power to protect life. The trust of a physician
is sacred. This is why the practice of medicine by the doctors of the Third
Reich is egregious, outrageous, and shocking. The Nazi doctors violated the trust
placed in them by humanity. The most painful truth is for the most part the
doctors escaped their crimes against Humanity and lived a life, unlike their
victims.
The Experiments
- Freezing / Hypothermia
- Genetics
- Infectious Diseases
- Interrogation and Torture
- Killing / Genocide
- High Altitude
- Pharmacological
- Sterilization
- Surgery
- Traumatic Injuries
Freezing / Hypothermia
The freezing / hypothermia experiments were conducted for the Nazi high command.
The experiments were conducted on men to simulate the conditions the armies
suffered on the Eastern Front. The German forces were ill prepared for the
bitter cold. Thousands of German soldiers died of freezing or were debilitated
by cold injuries.
The experiments were conducted under the supervision of Dr. Sigmund Rascher
at Birkenau, Dachau and Auschwitz . Dr. Rascher reported directly to Himmler.
Dr. Rascher publicized the results of his freezing experiments at the 1942
medical conference entitled "Medical Problems Arising from Sea and Winter".
The freezing experiments were divided into two parts. First, to establish how
long it would take to lower the body temperature to death and second how to best
resuscitate the frozen victim.
The two main methods used to freeze the victim were to put the person in a icy
vat of water or to put the victim outside naked in sub-zero temperatures.
The icy vat method proved to be the fastest way to drop the body temperature.
The selections were made of young healthy Jews or Russians. They were usually
stripped naked and prepared for the experiment. A insulated probe which
measured the drop in the body temperature was inserted into the rectum. The
probe was held in place by a expandable metal ring which was adjusted to open
inside the rectum to hold the probe firmly in place. The victim was then placed
in the vat of cold water and started to freeze. It was learned that most victims
lost consciousness and died when the body temperature dropped to 25 C.
Two Russian men were seen by a prisoner doctor in the cold vat. They were very
strong men and had said a comment to the SS doctor performing the experiment.
The prisoner doctor was shocked at how long the Russian men could take the cold
without loosing consciousness. He asked the directing doctor to take them out of
the tank. He did not allow this and increased the temperature slightly to
prolong their pain. They died after a long painful stay in the tank.
The second way to freeze a victim was to strap them to a stretcher and place them
outside naked. The extreme winters of Auschwitz made a natural place for this
experiment.
The resuscitation or warming experiments were just as cruel and painful as the
freezing experiments.
Sun Lamp
The victims were placed under sun lamps which were so hot they would burn the
skin. One young homosexual victim was repeatedly cooled to unconsciousness then
revived with lamps until he was pouring sweat. He died one evening after several
test sessions.
Internal Irrigation
The frozen victim would have water heated to a near blistering temperature
forcefully irrigated into the stomach, bladder, and intestines. All victims
appeared to have died from the treatment.
Hot Bath
The victim was placed in warm water and the temperature was slowly increased.
This method proved to be the best. Many victims died do to shock if they were
warmed up to quickly.
Warming by Body Heat
Heinrich Himmler suggested to Dr. Rascher that he try to use women to warm the
frozen men. He suggested that the victim and a women copulate. This perverted
experiment occurred with some success. However it was not as successful as the
Warm Bath.
Genetic Experiments
The Nordic or Aryan Race was the most important goal of the Nazis. It was the
largest part of the over all plan. The blonde hair, blue eye, super men were to
be the only race. The Blacks, Hispanics, Jews, Gypsies, Homosexuals and anyone
else that did not meet the race requirements were to by cleansed from society
through genocide. Hitler and the German High command made a list rules for the
fellow Nazis to follow. The new rules required all SS before marriage must
submit to general testing to insure racial purity. The rules for marriage were
unbelievably complex. Thousands of marriages were denied. If the laws for
marriage were broken it could mean the death penalty.
Dr. Sigmund Rascher and his wife learned what not following the marriage laws
would hold for their lives. Mrs. Rascher was sterile. They were not illegally
married; they adopted two children. They were later investigated by the
Gestapo and executed for the crime. In this case, after his medical
experimentation, it seems fitting that this killer was caught up by his own party.
Early in power the National Science groups were pushed into research of the race
and experiments commenced. First the party needed propaganda to prove all other
races were inferior. Measurements of heads, eyes, nose, blood were required.
The vast majority of the early experiments were a propaganda sham. It was
determined Gypsies had different blood and were inclined to criminal behaviour.
The same type of findings were made of all races other than the Nazis.
After the camps were started, vast genetic experiments were undertaken. The range
of the testing was broad and specialized. The two major groups of experiments
were first to refine the master race and second to determine the cause of
defects.
Dr. Josef Mengele research on twins and Gypsies exemplifies the quest for the
genetic studies. Dr. Mengele was known as the "Angel of Death". He would be at
every selection when the new trains would arrive at Auschwitz. After the victims
were unloaded off the trains and stripped naked and divided into men, women, and
children, he would sort through the thousands of people. Most went straight to the gas
chambers and others to hard labour in the camps. The twins, dwarfs, and unique
physical specimens were selected to be assigned to the experimental blocks. In
many ways the majority who where killed in the gas chambers were much better off
than the survivors that had no idea what horrors awaited them.
Experiments on Twins
The twins were examined from head to toe. Measurements of every inch were
taken. Dr. Mengele demanded specific and careful exams. If any detail was
missed the staff, usually a prisoner doctor, would be punished. The twins were
allowed to keep their hair for the first several days of the examination. After
all the living data was taken the twins would be killed by a single injection of
chloroform in the heart. Care was taken to insure the twins died at the same
time. The twins were then dissected with the organs being sent to research
centers.
Prisoner doctors tell of the fate of two Hungarian twins who arrived at
Auschwitz late in 1943. Dr. Mengele was at the camp selection. The train arrived
in the very early morning. Three sets of twins were found. They were taken to
the experimental block. Dr. Mengele ordered the two Hungarian twins be placed in
the examination room. The two Hungarian twins young men age 18 were described as
"extremely athletic and handsome." They had much body hair and were allowed to
keep it for the first few weeks. The twins were showered and returned nude to
the examination room. The examination started at the head . All parts of
their heads were examined. The head examination took almost days. They were then
completely X-rayed . The next part of the examination consisted of tubes being
forced through their noses and into their lungs. They were then ventilated with a
gas which caused them to cough so severely they had to be restrained. The
sputum from the lungs was collected for examination.
The twins were then photographed for several days . The purpose of the
photographs were to show hair patterns. They were each forced to stand, bend,
and kneel in many positions to accomplish the photographs. For example, they were
required to stand with their arms lifted for many hours so the under arm hair
could be photographed.
After the photographs were finished they were awoken very early in the morning.
They were taken into a room with tables and a hot water vat. The water in the
vat was very hot. They were made to sit in the water until they were ready to
pass out from the heat. They were then strapped to a table where their hair was
plucked out trying to save the hair root. They were put back into the hot vat
several times. After enough hair was collected, they were totally shaven of
every hair on their body. The twins were then again extensively photographed
without hair.
The twins then received several two liter enemas which caused them much pain and
discomfort. The boys on different days were strapped over a bench table and their
rectums were hyper descended after which they received an extensive lower gastric
intestinal examination. This extensive procedure was performed without any
anaesthesia. The young men were crying so loud that Doctor Mengele ordered they
be gagged. The next day they received a painful and humiliating urological
examination. In this examination tissue samples were taken from the kidneys,
prostate, and testicles. Several semen samples were forcefully taken over two
days.
After this three weeks of tortuous medical examinations they were taken two the
dissection laboratory. Using two doctors, each twin was simultaneously given an
injection in the heart, taking their lives. They were dissected and their organs
were sent to the Institute of Biological Racial and Evolutionary Research Berlin.
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