Medical Experiments: Auschwitz-Birkenau

=20

Sara Shmalo
Bronwen=20 Blaney

Medical Experiments = in=20 Auschwitz

In order to understand how brutal = and=20 realistic the medical experiments in Auschwitz were, a modern = student,=20 Stephen M. Scott, is quoted as defining a doctor and noting how = such a=20 modern-day definition of a doctor differs from that of the Nazi = doctors=20 in the mid-twentieth century. "Think of your family doctor = and try=20 to associate as many words as you can to describe the nature of = that=20 individual. Most people are able to come up with words = like=20 `compassionate', `professional' and `knowledgeable'. We = count on=20 our doctors to care for our health and provide strategies toward = maintaining that health. Doctors are some of the most = respected=20 and intelligent individuals in our society. So how is it = that a=20 doctor can compromise everything that he or she has learned in = medical=20 school in favor of political objectives and self-interested=20 advancement? How is it that a doctor can be transformed = from a=20 healer into a systematic killer? One needs only to look = into the=20 recent past to see the horrific truth: doctors were some = of the=20 most instrumental figures in the Holocaust and its = atrocities. It=20 has been said that "The Nazi doctor was a physician turned = inside=20 out." Inside the barbed-wire fences of Auschwitz and other = Nazi=20 concentration camps, unthinkable deeds were performed by = individuals=20 whom society puts the most trust=20 = in--doctors.


"Not only were the experiments = which the=20 doctors conducted unethical by nature, but they added nothing of = real=20 significance to medical knowledge! In order to insure that = these=20 events do not occur again, doctors must understand the pressures = and=20 mechanisms that were operating within the minds of the Nazi=20 doctors. Codes and declarations have since been issued to = create a=20 framework of consent and responsibility, and councils have been = set up=20 in order to assure that the events do not occur again. We = must all=20 face up to the legacy left behind by the Holocaust and its=20 practitioners. Understanding the crimes that Nazi doctors=20 willingly committed under the supervision of the state is = crucial in=20 insuring that this awful segment of history will never be=20 repeated."

Relation of = Medical=20 Experiments to Nazi Ideology

In Mein Kampf, Hitler = states that=20 "anyone who wants to cure this era, which is inwardly sick and = rotten,=20 must first of all summon up the courage to make clear the causes = of the=20 disease," (Lifton 212). As the cause of the disease, he = was=20 referring to Jews, gypsies and all those accused of racial = contamination=20 who were supposedly detrimental to the German race. Thus = the first=20 stage of the medical experiments which led to the gas chambers = at=20 concentration camps, specifically the experiments concerning = methods of=20 "euthanasia" (the medicalized killing of those who were a = "danger" to=20 society), was directly related to and supposedly justified by = Nazi=20 ideology since it purged the German race of its unwanted=20 = elements.

At=20 places like Auschwitz the killing was regarded as a means of = healing=20 Germany and curing it of the racial disease, thus leading to = what has=20 been called the "healing-killing paradox" wherein SS doctors = could get=20 around issues of moral and ethical conscience concerning their=20 medicalized killing and experimentation because they equated = killing=20 with healing. Murder was to them a furthering of their = commitment=20 as doctors to the preservation and enhancement of life, as it = was seen=20 ideologically as purification (Lifton 224). Therefore = their sense=20 of guilt was minimized and, with the support and endorsement of = the=20 National Socialist party, the doctors in question became capable = of=20 otherwise unimaginable atrocities, all because of the twisted = way in=20 which the Nazi ideology interpreted life and=20 murder.

Within = the=20 context of the struggle to form the perfect Aryan race, the = Holocaust=20 was seen by Nazis and many others as a necessary evil, as the = victims=20 had been reduced to a subhuman level and thus did not deserve to = be=20 treated ethically. They supposedly did not even deserve to = live=20 unless to serve some purpose, such as medical experimentation or = labor. Thus the experiments which took place were = justified as in=20 the name of science, and science as defined by the Nazis at that = time=20 concerned any research that could be implemented to help Nazi = troops or=20 to further the purification of the German race. As such,=20 experiments either tested methods of sterilization or murder to = purge=20 the race of its "unclean elements", or they tested ways of = actually=20 genetically engineering humans to create the perfect = blond-haired,=20 blue-eyed=20 = race.

Therefore, all=20 the medical experiments that took place at Auschwitz and other = such=20 concentration camps were done to further the cause of the Aryan = race on=20 German soil. The same cause was being fought abroad as = Germany=20 waged war and tried to dominate whole countries and cultures to=20 accommodate Hitler's theory of Lebensraum, the living space = necessary=20 for the survival of his perfect race.

Background on=20 Mengele

Dr. Josef Mengele, the = Auschwitz=20 "Angel of Death" was for many years one of the most wanted Nazi = war=20 criminals, due to his medical experiments. This geneticist = disregarded the Hippocratic Oath and sent thousands to their = death in=20 the name of science (Gutman 317).
Mengele's = career and=20 his involvement in criminal medical practices began with his = interest in=20 genetics, which overlapped with Nazi ideology. The = scientific=20 basis for the theory of superiority of the Germanic race came in = the=20 form of eugenics, a term conceived in the mid-19th century by = Sir=20 Francis Galton, an English professor (Gutman 317). Galton = believed=20 that the inherited traits of an individual would benefit = society=20 and humankind by identifying them and improving positive ones = while=20 eliminating negative ones (Gutman=20 317).

Eugenics = did not=20 become popular until after Hitler's rise to power, when it = changed=20 toward racial genetics. Eugenics provided the Nazis with a = scientific foundation for removing and killing persons suffering = from=20 mental illness, incurable disease, and the sterilization of = those=20 suspected of carrying hereditary=20 deformation.

In 1937, = Mengele, a young promising scientist, joined the Institute of = Heredity=20 and Racial Hygiene at the Frankfurt University, headed by = Professor=20 Otmar Freih=F6rer von Verschauer, the academic center of racial=20 genetics. Interested in Mengele's work in racial genetics, = Professor von Verschauer hired the young researcher as his = assistant=20 (Gutman = 318).

Mengele's=20 interest in twins dates from his early collaboration with von=20 Verschauer, who pursued research on twins as "the most efficient = method=20 to ascertain inherited human traits, particularly diseases = (Gutman=20 318)." Here Mengele acts but does not think. = Verschauer has=20 a large impact on his ideas and experiments at Auschwitz. = All=20 experiments Mengele embarks upon can be traced back to = Verschauer. =20 This shows that what Verschuer was not willing to complete = Mengele would=20 automatically do, hence arose the in depth "research" on = twins. =20 Mengele was molded by Verschauer and followed his lead in the = search for=20 an Aryan race.

Experimentation on=20 Twins

Mengele's "scientific" work at = Auschwitz=20 mostly consisted of identical twins. His study of twins = was=20 motivated by a desire to learn how to induce multiple births, in = order=20 to repopulate the world with Germans (Lifton 218). It is = seen he=20 clearly lost sight of the role of a scientist when he used = humans as=20 guinea pigs and specimen samples. When Mengele was not=20 experimenting with the twins he was quite gentle with the = children under=20 his care, made sure they received enough food, and even gave = them toys=20 and sweets. Children repaid him with trust and called him = "good=20 uncle" (Gutman=20 320).

Beginning in = the middle=20 of may 1944, experimental subjects were picked during selections = on the=20 unloading ramp from among Jewish transports headed toward the = gas=20 chambers (Gutman 321). Knowing Mengele wanted twins, = mothers gave=20 up their children hoping they would receive special=20 = treatment.          &nb= sp; =20 Mengele was involved in four types of experimentation: =20 anthropometric, morphological, x-ray, and psychiatric evaluation = (Gutman=20 323).

Anthropological=20 Exam

In the anthropological exam, each body = part=20 was precisely measured; twins were measured together and results = compared. Documentation includes descriptions of such = details as=20 shape of the mouth, nose, and the auricle, color of the eyes, = and=20 coloring of the skin in various parts of the body. Mengele = conducted the measurements personally, using the latest Swiss = precision=20 measuring instruments, assisted by Martyna Puzyna, a Polish = prisoner and=20 a doctor of anthropology. During measurements, which often = lasted=20 several hours, the twins stood naked in an unheated room, which = was=20 particularly exhausting for small children. Mengele often=20 personally photographed the objects of his interest or entrusted = this=20 task to the photographic workshop (Erkennungsdienst) in the main = camp=20 (Gutman 323).
-- Morphological, X-ray, Surgical=20 examinations, and Sight, Hearing, and Dental=20 checks

In the course = of=20 dental examinations, plaster casts of the jaws of twins were = made. =20 During ophthamological examinations, drops of a liquid unknown = to the=20 prisoners were put into their eyes, which resulted in = suppuration; in=20 extreme cases, children suffered partial loss of sight (Gutman=20 323-24). In an excerpt from Children of the Flames = Hedvah=20 and Leah Stern give a description of their experience with the = eye=20 testing. It appears that these experiments were related to = attempts to change eye color by injecting unknown chemical = substances=20 into children's eyes (Gutman 326).

Hedvah and Leah = Stern

      "Mengele was = trying to=20 change the color of our eyes. One day, we were given=20 eye-drops. Afterwards, we could no see for several = days. =20 We thought the Nazis had made us=20 blind.
      "We were very=20 frightened of the experiments. They took a lot of blood = from=20 us. We fainted several times, and the SS guards were = very=20 amused.
      "We were not = very=20 developed. The Nazis made us remove our clothes, and = then they=20 took photographs of = us.
      =20 "The SS guards would point to us and laugh. We stood = naked in=20 front of these Nazi thugs, shaking from cold and fear, and = they=20 laughed (Lagnado 66)."

Up to 20 cubic centimeters of = blood was=20 collected from each pair of twins. Blood, urine, stool, = and saliva=20 samples were sent for analysis to the lab of the Hygiene=20 Institute. Archives of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum = contain=20 numerous requests for analysis bearing Mengele's signature = (Gutman=20 324). As part of morphological research, Mengele performed = Blood=20 transfusion between twins, observing their reactions. = Since these=20 experiments were not preceded by blood cross-matching, they = often led to=20 serious complications. There is also evidence that Mengele = performed ghastly experiments on children for no medical purpose = (Gutman=20 324). Vera Alexander, a Jewish prisoner posted to the = barracks for=20 twins in the Gypsy camp, testified:


"One day = Mengele=20 brought chocolate and special clothes. The next day an = SS man,=20 on Mengele's instructions, took away two children, who = happened to be=20 my favorites: Guido and Nino, aged about four. Two, = perhaps=20 three days later the SS man brought them back in a frightening = condition. They had been sewn together like Siamese = twins. =20 The hunchbacked child was tied to the second one on the back = and=20 wrists. Mengele had sewn their veins together. The = wounds=20 were filthy and they festered. There was a powerful = stench of=20 gangrene. The children screamed all night long. = Somehow=20 their mother managed to get hold of morphine and put an end to = their=20 suffering. (Gutman 324)"

The documentation of = Mengele's research,=20 including photographs, drawings, accounts, and analyses, was = preserved=20 in special files, one for each person subjected to = experiments. =20 The twins were constantly being tested and compared to one = another even=20 after death. After weeks of tortuous medical examinations = they=20 were taken to the dissection laboratory. Using two = doctors, each=20 twin was simultaneously given an injection in the heart, taking = their=20 lives. They were dissected and their organs were sent to = the=20 Institute of Biological Racial and Evolutionary Research in = Berlin=20 (Medical Experiments 4).

Other = Medical=20 = Experiments
      Though=20 the general attitude in the early forties concerning = concentration camps=20 and extermination of Jews was that the whole process should be = dealt=20 with as quickly as possible for reasons of pragmatism, many = Nazis felt=20 that they should at the same time exploit the labor potential of = their=20 prisoners. However since the whole point of the Holocaust = was to=20 purge the German race of any "inferior humans" in order to = create the=20 perfect Aryan race, if any Jewish workers were to be kept alive = they=20 needed to be sterilized to prevent further racial contamination=20 (I).

Thus began experiments into mass = sterilization=20 testing operative castration, castration by means of X-rays or=20 injection, preferably administered through a method that left = the person=20 unaware of the sterilization. This was all justified by = the Nazis=20 as in the interest of obtaining labor material, and ethics had = no place=20 in the decision or experimentation process as the subjects were=20 condemned to death anyway (I). "With no ethical = considerations at=20 issue, a more opportunistic surgical laboratory than Auschwitz = could=20 hardly be imagined (Gutman 304)." =20

Almost all medical=20 experimentation received official encouragement as they were = viewed as a=20 direct expression of racial theory and policy, such as that = which Hitler=20 clarified when he maintained the necessity of not just = sterilizing but=20 eliminating "life unworthy of life". The sterilization and = castration experiments conducted at Auschwitz by doctors Carl = Clauberg=20 and Horst Schumann (Gutman 302-303) were supported by SS = official=20 Himmler as he provided the adequate research materials to the=20 concentration camp=20 (I).

Clauberg = was the=20 main doctor involved with mass sterilization at Auschwitz, as = the=20 concentration camp was placed at his disposal for his = experiments on=20 human beings and animals (I). He worked out of "Block 10", = also=20 known as "Clauberg's block", which was also the site of = Schumann's=20 castration and X-ray experiments on males, trying to develop a = method of=20 cheap and effective mass sterilization of females that could be=20 implemented immediately. Clauberg developed such a method = by 1943=20 involving a single injection of a caustic substance through the = cervix=20 that would obstruct the fallopian tubes (II) and was made during = the=20 course of a customary gynecological exam, leaving the patient = unawares=20 and achieving sterilization without operation. He = estimated that=20 one physician properly equipped could sterilize 1,000 women per = day=20 (I).

Medical = experiments that=20 involved exposing prisoners to freezing temperatures or high = altitudes=20 to determine the affects of hypothermia or low pressure on = humans were=20 typically carried out in concentration camps other than = Auschwitz, such=20 as Dachau. However, they were of the same nature as the = Auschwitz=20 medical experiments, justified by the Nazis as scientific = research that=20 would benefit their troops. The subjects would be taken up = to high=20 altitudes, or would be placed in snow or cold water in different = manners=20 to determine the various human reactions to such environments=20 (I).

When the = subject=20 died, as they typically did, they would be dissected with = special=20 attention being paid to the large amounts of either free air or = free=20 blood typically found in the cranial cavity. Such were the = experiments performed in the name of science. Though = Auschwitz did=20 not focus on such things because it was more a concentration = camp known=20 more so for medicalized killing, it still played its part by = providing=20 subjects for other camps' experiments. Auschwitz not only = supplied=20 such things as skeletons of prisoners for anthropological = research (I),=20 but it also exported prisoners, as the supply therein was so=20 plentiful. For example, it sent children away to be used = in=20 tuberculosis experiments and shipped prepared specimens to Dr. = August's=20 anatomical "museum" (Gutman=20 304).

Many other = experiments=20 were conducted at Auschwitz on a smaller scale, such as Dr. = Eduard=20 Wirth's studies of precancerous growths of the cervix of women, = which=20 involved the surgical removal of most or all of the cervix and = often=20 ended in complications or deaths. Wirth also tested typhus = vaccines by intentionally infecting prisoners with the disease, = as=20 German military and civilian personnel were particularly = susceptible to=20 the illness (Lifton 218). One of the more brutal = experiments=20 associated with Auschwitz was that conducted by Dr. Herta = Oberheuser,=20 wherein she would "kill prisoners with oil and evipan = injections, remove=20 their limbs and vital organs, and rub crushed glass and sawdust = into the=20 wounds of the deceased (II)."

Historical = Implications of the=20 = Experiments

Besid= es=20 resulting in the deaths of countless prisoners, the ruthless = medical=20 experiments conducted as Auschwitz and other concentration camps = during=20 the Holocaust resulted in the Nuremburg and Helsinki = Codes. After=20 the war was over and the camps were liberated, 24 German = physicians were=20 brought to trial at the Nuremberg Medical Trial, which began in = October=20 of 1946 and lasted until August of 1947. Eight of the = defendants=20 were acquitted and fifteen were found guilty, of which seven = were given=20 the death penalty and eight were imprisoned. Dr. Herta = Oberheuser=20 received twenty years in prison and served only ten, and Dr. = Mengele was=20 not even among the 24 accused=20 (II).

From this = trial=20 the Nuremberg Codes were developed, "a 10-point code of human=20 experimentation ethics which sets the general agenda for all = future=20 ethical and legal questions pertaining to the conduct of human=20 experimentation." These codes were developed to ensure = that=20 history would not repeat itself, but they in time became = insufficient as=20 in 1947 when they were developed, most human experimentation was = of a=20 non-therapeutic design and was more directed to exploring basic=20 processes. Thus, in 1964 the World Medical Association = issued the=20 Helsinki Declaration which differentiated between = therapeutic and=20 non-therapeutic clinical research=20 (II).

The = Declaration=20 did not have an absolute requirement of informed consent = concerning=20 therapeutic research as it introduced the concept of = guardianship as=20 sufficient means of obtaining consent. Such a condition = seemed to=20 undermine the Nuremberg Codes in that it potentially allowed for = the=20 doctor to take advantage of the patient in acting as his = caretaker, just=20 as the Nazi doctors had in "taking care" of their imprisoned = patients=20 (II). Nonetheless, between the two declarations much has = been done=20 to define the area of medical experimentation to avoid any = repeat of the=20 Holocaust atrocities, and modern-day doctors remain well aware = of the=20 issues at stake and the necessity for the preservation of human = rights=20 and ethics in every situation.

Works = Cited

Gutman,=20 Yisrael and Michael Berenbaum. Anatomy of=20 the
Auschwitz Death Camp. Indiana University = Press:=20 Indianapolis, 1994.

Lagnado, Lucete Matalon and = Sheila Cohn=20 Dekel. Children of the Flames: Dr. Josef Mengele = and the=20 Untold Story of the Twins of Auschwitz. William Morrow = and=20 Company: New York, 1991.

Lifton, Robert Jay. = The Nazi=20 Concentration Camps: Medicalized Killing in = Auschwitz. =20 Yad Vashem: Israel, 1984. p. 207-55.

I.   http://www.vwc.ed= u/wwwpages/dgraf/nazidocs.txt
II.=20 http://ww= w2.kenyon.edu/people/scotts/projects/nazi.htm

=20

Works=20 Consulted
III. http://www.remember.= org/educate/medexp.html
IV. =20 http://shamash.or= g/holocaust/images/Krema3.jpg
V.  =20 http:/= /modb.oce.ulg.ac.be/schmitz/Holocaust/medexp01.html
VI. = ;=20 http://shamash.= org/holocaust/images/MedExp04.jpg