Everything about Nazi Human Experimentation totally explained
Nazi human experimentation was medical
experimentation on large numbers of people by the
German Nazi regime in its
concentration camps during
World War II. At
Auschwitz, under the direction of
Dr. Eduard Wirths, selected inmates were subjected to various experiments which were supposedly designed to help German military personnel in combat situations, to aid in the recovery of military personnel that had been injured, and to advance the racial ideology backed by the
Third Reich. After the war, these crimes were tried at what became known as the
Doctors' Trial, and revulsion at the abuses perpetrated led to the development of the
Nuremberg Code of
medical ethics.
Experiments
According to the indictment at the
Subsequent Nuremberg Trials, these experiments included the following:
Experiments on twins
Experiments on twin children in concentration camps were created to show the similarities and differences in the genetics and eugenics of twins, as well as to see if the human body can be unnaturally manipulated. The central leader of the experiments was Dr.
Josef Mengele, who performed experiments on over 1,500 sets of imprisoned twins, of which fewer than 200 individuals survived the studies. Whilst attending
University of Munich (located in the city that remained one of
Adolf Hitler's focal points during the revolution) studying
Philosophy and
Medicine with an emphasis on
Anthropology and
Paleontology, Mengele got swept up in the Nazi hysteria and even said that "this simple political concept finally became the decisive factor in my life". Mengele's newfound admiration for the "simple political concept" led him to mix his studies of medicine and politics as his career choice.
Mengele received his PhD for his thesis entitled "Racial Morphological Research on the Lower Jaw Section of Four Racial Groups", which suggested that one could define a person's race by the shape of his or her jaw. The Nazi Organization saw his studies as talents, and Mengele was asked to be the leading physician and researcher at Auschwitz concentration camp in
Poland in May of
1943. There, Dr. Mengele organized the testing of
genetics in twins. The twins were arranged by age and sex and kept in
barracks in between the tests, which ranged from the injection of different chemicals into the eyes of the twins to see if it would change their colors to literally sewing the twins together in hopes of creating
conjoined twins.
Freezing experiments
In 1941 the
Luftwaffe conducted experiments to learn how to treat
hypothermia. One study forced subjects to endure a tank of ice water for up to three hours. Another study placed prisoners naked in the open for several hours with temperatures below freezing. The experimenters assessed different ways of rewarming survivors.
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, as the German forces were ill prepared for the bitter cold.
The experiments were conducted under the supervision of
Dachau and
Auschwitz. Rascher reported directly to
Heinrich Himmler, and publicized the results of his freezing experiments at the 1942 medical conference entitled "Medical Problems Arising from Sea and Winter".
The freezing experiments were in 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 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. An insulated probe which measured the drop in the body temperature was inserted into the
rectum. The probe was held in place by an expandable metal ring which was adjusted to open inside the rectum to hold the probe firmly in place. The victim was put into an air force uniform, then placed in the vat of cold water and started to freeze. It was learned that most subjects lost consciousness and died when the body temperature dropped to 77 °F (25 °C).
Malaria experiments
From about February 1942 to about April 1945, experiments were conducted at the
Dachau concentration camp in order to investigate immunization for treatment of
malaria. Healthy inmates were infected by
mosquitoes or by injections of extracts of the
mucous glands of female mosquitoes. After contract, the subjects were treated with various drugs to test their relative efficacy. Over 1,000 people were used in these experiments, and of those, more than half died as a result.
Mustard gas experiments
At various times between September 1939 and April 1945, experiments were conducted at
Sachsenhausen,
Natzweiler, and other camps to investigate the most effective treatment of wounds caused by
mustard gas. Mustard gas wounds were inflicted on the subjects, who were then tested to find the most effective treatment for the wounds.
Sulfonamide experiments
From about July 1942 to about September 1943, experiments to investigate the effectiveness of
sulfonamide, a synthetic antimicrobial agent, were conducted at Ravensbrück. Wounds inflicted on the subjects were infected with
bacteria such as
Streptococcus,
gas gangrene, and
tetanus.
Circulation of blood was interrupted by tying off blood vessels at both ends of the wound to create a condition similar to that of a battlefield wound. Infection was aggravated by forcing wood shavings and ground glass into the wounds. The infection was treated with sulfonamide and other drugs to determine their effectiveness.
Sea water experiments
From about July 1944 to about September 1944, experiments were conducted at the Dachau concentration camp to study various methods of making
sea water drinkable. At one point, a group of roughly 90 Roma were deprived of food and given nothing but sea water to drink by
Dr. Hans Eppinger, leaving them gravely injured.
Sterilization experiments
From about March 1941 to about January 1945, sterilization experiments were conducted at Auschwitz,
Ravensbrück, and other places by
Dr. Carl Clauberg. Intravenous injections of solutions speculated to contain
iodine and
silver nitrate were successful, but had unwanted side effects such as vaginal bleeding, severe abdominal pain, and cervical cancer. Therefore, radiation treatment became the favored choice of sterilization. Specific amounts of exposure to radiation destroyed a person’s ability to produce ova and sperm. The radiation was administered through deception. Prisoners were brought into a room and asked to fill out forms, which took two to three minutes. In this time, the radiation treatment was administered and, unbeknownst to the prisoners, they were rendered completely sterile. Many suffered severe
radiation burns.
Typhus (Fleckfieber) experiments
From about December 1941 to about February 1945, experiments were conducted to investigate the effectiveness of spotted fever and other vaccines. Other healthy inmates were used to determine the effectiveness of different spotted fever vaccines and of various chemical substances. In the course of these experiments, 75% of the selected inmates were vaccinated with one of the vaccines or nourished with one of the chemical substances and, after a period of three to four weeks, were infected with spotted fever germs. The remaining 25% were infected without any previous protection in order to compare the effectiveness of the vaccines and the chemical substances. Hundreds of the subjects died. Experiments with
yellow fever,
smallpox, typhus,
paratyphus A and B,
cholera, and
diphtheria were also conducted. Similar experiments with like results were conducted at Natzweiler.
Experiments with poison
In or about December 1943 and October 1944, experiments were conducted at
Buchenwald to investigate the effect of various poisons. The poisons were secretly administered to experimental subjects in their food. The victims died as a result of the poison or were killed immediately in order to permit
autopsies. In September 1944, experimental subjects were shot with poisonous bullets and suffered torture and often died. Of the 200 subjects, 80 died outright, and the others were executed. Those who survived were often left mutilated, suffering permanent disability, weakened bodies, and mental duress. The code calls for such standards as voluntary consent of patients, avoidance of unnecessary pain and suffering, and that there must be a belief that the experimentation won't end in death or disabilities. However, the Code wasn't cited in any of the findings against the defendants and never made it into either German or American medical law. However, the results from Unit 731 were kept classified by the United States and the majority of doctors involved were given pardons.
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