Medical experiments on people. Auschwitz concentration camp: experiments on women

Medical experiments

During the short-lived “New Order” in Europe, the Germans
committed acts generated more by ordinary sadism than by thirst
massacres. Only for a psychiatrist there is, perhaps, a difference between
these two destructive passions, although the end result in the first case
differed from the second only in the scale of destruction of people.

The medical experiments of the Nazis are just an example of this.
sadism, since the use of concentration camp prisoners and prisoners of war in
as experimental animals has hardly enriched science. These terrible acts
which German medicine cannot be proud of. And although they carried out
"experiments" of about 200 charlatan flayers, some of whom
occupied a very responsible position in medical circles, their criminal
activities were known to thousands of leading doctors of the Reich, but not one, like about
this is evidenced by documents, did not openly express even the slightest
protest (including the most famous in Germany surgeon dr. Ferdinand
Sauerbruch, although he later became an anti-fascist and collaborated with the forces
Resistance. In May 1943, Sauerbruch was present at the Berlin
Military Medical Academy at a lecture given by two notorious
killer doctors - Karl Gebhardt and Fritz Fischer about experiments on
provoking gas gangrene in prisoners. The only objection
Sauerbruch made a remark at this lecture that “surgery is better
sulfonamide." Professor Gebhardt was sentenced to death at the famous
"Trial of Doctors" and hanged on June 2, 1948. Dr. Fisher was sentenced to
life imprisonment. - Approx. ed.).
Jews were not the only victims of this kind of murder. Nazi
doctors conducted experiments on Russian prisoners of war, on concentration camp prisoners,
over men and women, even over Germans. The "experiments" were very
diverse. The subjects were placed in pressure chambers and tested at high altitudes.
modes until they stopped breathing. They were injected
lethal doses of typhoid and hepatitis microbes. Experiments were carried out on them
frozen" in ice water or taken out naked in the cold until they
were freezing. They were tested by poisoned bullets and mustard gas. IN
concentration camp for women Ravensbrück to hundreds of Polish girls - “experimental subjects”
rabbits,” as they were called, were deliberately inflicted wounds and brought to
gangrene, while others were subjected to “experiments” in bone transplantation. To Dachau
and Buchenwald they selected gypsies and checked on them how many and how
A person can live on salt water. In many camps it is widespread
experiments were carried out on the sterilization of men and women, because, as he wrote
Himmler SS therapist dr. Adolf Pokorny, "the enemy is necessary not only
defeat, but also eradicate." In those cases when it does not need to be killed, but
need in labor force, as we have already had the opportunity to verify, by the end
war called into question the expediency of exterminating people - it should
"to deprive oneself of the ability to reproduce." In essence, as reported to Himmler
Dr. Pokorny, he managed to find suitable means for this purpose - a plant
Caladium seguinum, which, according to him, provided long-lasting
sterility.
“The very idea,” the good doctor wrote to the SS Fuhrer, “that three
million Bolsheviks who are now in German captivity, can be
sterilized and at the same time suitable for work, opens far
upcoming prospects."
Another German doctor who discovered “far-reaching prospects” was
Professor August Hirt, head of the Institute of Anatomy at Strasbourg
university. His area of interest was somewhat different from the subjects
research by his colleagues, which he told Himmler’s adjutant
to SS Lieutenant General Rudolf Brandt in a letter written on the eve of
Christmas 1941:
"We have at our disposal a large collection of skulls from almost all
races and peoples. However, we have only a very small number of skulls
Jewish race... The war in the East presents us with a favorable
opportunity to fill this gap. With receiving skulls
Jewish-Bolshevik commissars, who represent the prototype
the most repulsive, but characteristic humanoid creatures, we get
opportunity to acquire the necessary scientific material."
Professor Hirt did not mean the skulls of "Jewish-Bolshevik
commissars", so to speak, already prepared. He suggested first measuring
living skulls. Then, after the death of the Jew - the head should not be
be damaged - the doctor will separate it from the body and place it in a hermetically sealed
closed container. After this, Dr. Hirt will begin further scientific research.
research. Himmler was very pleased. He gave instructions to ensure
Professor Hirt with everything necessary for research work. And him
provided. The responsible supplier of "scientific material" was quite
a notable Nazi named Wolfram Sivere, who repeatedly
acted as a witness at the main trial in Nuremberg, and then in
as a defendant (He was sentenced to death and hanged. - Approx.
ed.) on "The Doctors' Trial". Former bookseller Sivere rose to the rank
Colonel of the SS Troops and Executive Secretary at the Institute of Research
heredity, one of the absurd "cultural" institutions created
Himmler for research into his many crazy ideas. By
According to Sivers, there were 50 scientific institutions there, one of which
was called the Institute of Military Scientific Research, and was headed by the same
Sivere. It was a man somewhat similar to Mephistopheles, with a sly squint
eyes and a thick blue-black beard. In Nuremberg he was dubbed a Nazi
Bluebeard resembles a famous character. Like many others
participants in this story, he kept a detailed diary, which, like his
correspondence was preserved and helped him end his life on the gallows.
By June 1943, Sievers had succeeded in selecting men and women from Auschwitz
the skeletons of which were later to serve “for scientific measurements”,
conducted by Dr. Hirt, professor at the University of Strasbourg. "Total, -
Sivere reported that 115 people were processed, including 79 Jews,
30 Jews, 4 Asians and 2 Poles." At the same time, he submitted an application to the main
SS control in Berlin for the transportation of those selected "for processing" from
Auschwitz to the Natzweiler concentration camp, near Strasbourg. During the cross
interrogation in Nuremberg, the English prosecutor asked what the word meant
"treatment".
“Anthropological measurements,” Sivere answered.
- That is, before they were killed, an anthropological measurement was carried out? AND
that's all they were for, right?
“Then casts were made,” Sivere added.
What followed next was told by SS captain Joseph Kramer,
a killer with extensive experience gained in Auschwitz, Mauthausen, Dachau and
other concentration camps. Having earned the short-lived fame of the Belsen Beast, he was
subsequently sentenced to death by an English court in Luneburg.
"Professor Hirt from the Strasbourg Institute of Anatomy informed me about
train of prisoners coming from Auschwitz. He said that they would
killed in the gas chambers of the Natzweiler concentration camp. After this the bodies will
delivered to the Institute of Anatomy at his disposal. He gave me
a half-liter bottle filled about half with some crystals
(I think it was cyanide salts) and explained the approximate dosage that
should be used to poison those arriving from Auschwitz.
At the beginning of August 1943, I received 80 prisoners who were subject to
killing with the help of crystals given to me by Hirt. One night on
I took about 15 people to the gas chamber in a small car - the first
party. I informed the women that in order to undergo disinfection they needed to enter
camera. Of course, I didn’t say that they would be gassed there.”
By this time, the Nazis had already improved poisoning technology
gas.
“With the help of several SS soldiers,” Kramer continued, “I forced
women stripped naked and in this form pushed them into the gas chamber.
When the door slammed, they started screaming. Through a small pipe...
I poured the required amount of crystals into the chamber and began to observe in the viewing room
hole behind what is happening in the chamber. The women breathed for about another half a minute,
then they hit the floor. Then, turning off the ventilation, I opened the door and saw
lifeless bodies stained with excrement."
Captain Kramer testified that he repeated this procedure several times,
until all 80 prisoners were killed. After this, the corpses were handed over
Professor Hirt, as required. The interrogators asked Kramer a question:
what he felt at that time. Kramer gave an answer that cannot be forgotten and
which sheds light on a phenomenon characteristic of the Third Reich, but
something that seemed incomprehensible to a normal person:
"I did not have any feelings when performing these actions, since I
received an order to liquidate 80 prisoners as I have just stated
way.
That's exactly how I was trained to act, by the way."
Another witness described what happened next. His name is Henri Eripierre
(a Frenchman who worked as an assistant at the Institute of Anatomy, in
laboratory of Professor Hirt, until the entry of troops into Strasbourg
allies).
"The first batch we received included the corpses of 30 women... The bodies were
still warm. The eyes were open and shining. Red, bloodshot, they
crawled out of their orbits. Traces of blood were visible near the nose and around the mouth. But no
There were no signs of rigor mortis."
Eripier suspected that they were killed deliberately, and secretly wrote down
their personal numbers tattooed on their left arm. Then two more arrived
parties total number 56 corpses in exactly the same condition. They were preserved in alcohol
under the direct supervision of Dr. Hirt. However, the professor showed
signs of concern about the whole affair. "Henri," he said
Eripieru, “if you can’t keep your mouth shut, you’ll become one of them.”
Nevertheless, Dr. Hirt continued to lead the work. As evidenced
correspondence of Sievers, the professor separated the heads and, according to him, collected
a collection of skulls that had never existed before. But soon arose
certain difficulties and, having heard about them from the mouth of Hirt, because Sivere had never
was a specialist in medicine, especially in anatomy, head of the Institute
Heredity research reported on them on September 5, 1944 to Himmler:
"Due to the wide scale of scientific research, the processing of corpses has not yet
completed. It will take some time to process another 80 corpses."
And time was running out. Advancing American and French troops
were approaching Strasbourg. Hirt asked for "instructions regarding the fate
collections".
"It would be possible to separate from the corpses soft fabrics, in order to exclude
their identification,” Sivere reported to headquarters on behalf of Dr. Hirt. - However, this
means that at least some of the work was done in vain and that this
the unique collection is lost to science, since it can be done later
plaster casts will not be possible.
As such, a collection of skeletons will not attract attention. Can
declare that soft tissues were left behind by the French even before
the Institute of Anatomy passed into our hands (Germany annexed Alsace after
the fall of France in 1940, and the Germans captured the University of Strasbourg -
Author's note), and that they will be burned. Please give me recommendations for
which of the three options should be resorted to: 1) Save all
collection. 2) Partially dismantle it. 3) Completely dismantle
collection".

Witness, tell me why you wanted to separate the soft tissue? - asked
question from an English prosecutor in a silent Nuremberg courtroom. - Why
did you suggest that the blame should fall on the French?
“As a non-specialist, I could not have my own opinion on this matter,”
answered Nazi Blue Beard, - I just conveyed Dr. Hirt’s request. I don't
had nothing to do with the murder of these people. I played the role of a postman.
“You worked like a whole post office,” interrupted the prosecutor, “still
one of those so famous Nazi post offices, isn't it?
This Nazi’s defense, like that of many others at trial, was made up by whites
threads, and the prosecution easily drove him into a corner.
Captured SS archives made it possible to establish that on October 26, 1944
Sievers reported: “The collection in Strasbourg is completely depleted
according to the received directive. This is the best way out, given the current situation
situation."
Eripier later described an attempt, although not entirely successful, to hide
traces of crimes:
"In September 1944, when the Allies began to advance on Belfort, Hirt
ordered Bong and Herr Meyer to dismember the corpses and burn them in the crematorium... I
asked Herr Meyer the next day if he had dismembered all the bodies, but
Herr Bong replied: “We couldn’t dismember all the bodies, it’s too big
Job. We left several corpses in storage."
When, a month later, units led by the French 2nd Armored
division operating as part of the American 7th Army entered Strasbourg,
these corpses were discovered there by the Allies (Professor Hirt went into hiding. Leaving
Strasbourg, he is reported to have boasted that no one could take him alive
it will succeed. Apparently he was right, since he was neither alive nor dead to be found
failed. - Approx. ed.).
Not only turtles, but also human skin apologists found use
"new order", although in the latter case they could no longer hide behind
service to science. The skin of concentration camp prisoners specially destroyed during this
diabolical purpose, had only decorative value. From her, how
it turned out that they made excellent lampshades, and several of them were
made especially for Frau Ilse Koch, wife of the concentration camp commandant in
Buchenwald, nicknamed by the prisoners the Buchenwald Bitch (Frau Koch, power
which over the life and death of prisoners was limitless and any whim
which could cost the prisoner a terrible punishment, was sentenced to
Buchenwald trial to life imprisonment. Subsequently, however,
her sentence was reduced to four years, and soon she was released altogether
freedom. On January 15, 1951, she was sentenced by a German court to
life imprisonment for murder. During the war, for "excesses" her husband was
sentenced to death by the SS court. However, he was given the right
choice - death or service on the Russian front. But before he could
Using it, the head of the SS district, Prince Waldeck, achieved his execution.
Princess Mafalda, daughter of the king and queen, also died in Buchenwald.
Italy, wife of Prince Philip of Hesse. - Approx. ed.). Tattooed skin
was in particular demand. A camp prisoner talks about this at the Nuremberg trials
German Andreas Pfaffenberger gave the following testimony under oath:
"...All prisoners who had a tattoo were ordered to report to
dispensary... After examination, prisoners with the most artistic
the tattoo was killed by injection. Their corpses were delivered to
pathological department, where flaps of tattooed skin were separated from the body,
then subjected to appropriate processing. Finished products
passed on to Koch's wife, on whose instructions lampshades and
other decorative household items."
On one piece of leather, which probably produced a particularly strong
Frau Koch was impressed by a tattoo with the inscription: “Hansel and Gretel.”
In another camp, at Dachau, the demand for such leather often exceeded
offer. A camp prisoner, Czech doctor Dr. Frank Blaha, testified in
Nuremberg the following:

"Sometimes there weren't enough bodies with good skin, and then Dr. Rusher said:
"It's okay, you'll get the bodies." The next day we received twenty or
thirty bodies of young people. They were killed by a shot to the head or a blow to the
head, but the skin remained intact... The skin had to come from
healthy people and have no defects."
Apparently, it was Dr. Sigmund Rascher who was responsible for most
sadistic medical experiments. This inveterate charlatan has attracted attention
Himmler, one of whose obsessions was the development of more and more
full generations of the Nordic race, spreading rumors in SS circles about
that Frau Rascher, after forty-eight years, gave birth to three children, different
more advanced qualities from the point of view of racial theory. IN
in reality, the Rusher family simply kidnapped children from orphanages
houses at appropriate intervals. In the spring of 1941, Dr.
Rascher, who was attending special medical courses in Munich at that time,
organized by the Luftwaffe, a brilliant idea suddenly came to mind. May 15
1941, he wrote about her to Himmler. To his horror, Dr. Rasher discovered
that experiments to study the effects of high altitudes on pilots were stuck on
dead point. "Until now it was impossible to conduct experiments
in public, because they are dangerous to the health of test subjects, and volunteers,
“There are no people ready to be subjected to them,” wrote the “researcher.” - Could not
would you provide two or three professional criminals... for
participation in these experiments. Experiments in which they will probably die,
will be carried out with my participation."
A week later the SS Fuhrer replied that “prisoners, of course, will
willingly provided for high-altitude experiments." They were
granted, and Dr. Rasher got to work. The results can be judged by
his own reports and the reports of other “experimenters”. These
documents appeared at the Nuremberg and subsequent trials, in particular
over SS doctors.
Dr. Rascher's description of his research may serve as a model
pseudoscientific jargon. To conduct high-altitude experiments, he organized
transfer of an Air Force pressure chamber from Munich directly to a concentration camp near Dachau, where
there was a shortage of human material intended for the role of experimental subjects
rabbits. The air was being pumped out of the newly invented contraption.
so that conditions of absence of oxygen and low pressure were simulated,
characteristic of high altitudes. After this, Dr. Rascher proceeded to
observations.
"The third experiment was carried out in the absence of oxygen,
corresponding to an altitude of 29,400 feet (8820 meters). The subject was a Jew 37
years old in good physical condition. Breathing continued for 30 minutes.
Four minutes after the start, the subject began to sweat and twist
head.
Five minutes later the cramps appeared; between the sixth and tenth minutes
the breathing rate increased, the subject began to lose consciousness. From the eleventh
By the thirtieth minute, breathing slowed to three breaths per minute and completely
stopped by the end of the test period... Half an hour after stopping
breathing began to open."
Austrian prisoner Anton Pacholeg, who worked in the department of Dr.
Rascher, described the "experiments" less scientific language:
"I personally saw through the observation window of the pressure chamber how prisoners
endured the vacuum until the lungs ruptured. They were going crazy
They tore out their hair, trying to relieve the pressure. They scratched themselves
head and face with nails and tried to mutilate themselves in a fit of madness, fought
head against the walls and shouted, trying to relieve the pressure on the drums
membranes. Such experiments usually ended in the death of the subjects."
About 200 prisoners were subjected to these experiments before Dr.
Rusher completed them. Of this number, as it became known at the "Doctors' Trial",
about 80 died on the spot, the rest were liquidated a little later,
so that no one could talk about what happened.

This "research" program ended in May 1942, when
Field Marshal Erhard Milch of the Luftwaffe conveyed Goering's gratitude to Himmler
for the innovative "experiments" of Dr. Rascher. Some time later, 10
October 1942, Lieutenant General Dr. Hippke, Aviation Inspector
medicine, expressed to Himmler on behalf of German aviation medicine and science
his deepest gratitude for the "experiments" at Dachau. However, on his
Look, there was one omission in them. They did not take into account extremely low
temperatures in which the pilot operates at high altitudes. In order to
to correct this deficiency, Dr. Hippke informed Himmler that the Air Force
began the construction of a pressure chamber equipped with a cooling system,
capable of reproducing cold at altitudes up to 100 thousand feet (30 thousand
meters). He added that experiments at low temperatures
various programs are still ongoing in Dachau.
They actually continued. And again under the leadership of Dr. Rascher.
However, some of his fellow doctors were plagued by doubts: was it Christian?
is Dr. Rascher coming in? A number of Luftwaffe doctors began to seriously think about this
check. Upon learning of this, Himmler became furious and immediately sent
an indignant message to Field Marshal Milch, condemning the atmosphere of difficulties,
created by "Christian medical circles" in the Air Force. At the same time he asked
Chief of Staff of the Air Force to relieve Dr. Rusher from the medical service
Air Force so that he could work in the SS. Himmler suggested finding a "doctor
non-Christian, worthy of a scientist, capable of continuing valuable research
Dr. Rasher. At the same time, Himmler emphasized that he “takes upon himself
responsibility for sending antisocial individuals to Air Force research centers
persons and criminals from concentration camps who deserve nothing but
of death".
The "freezing experiments" conducted by Dr. Rusher were
two types: the first - in order to find out how cold it is and how long it is
a person can endure before he dies; the second - with the aim of finding
the best ways to warm a person who is still alive after he has been exposed to
exposure to extremely low temperatures. For freezing people
two methods were used: either the person was placed in a tank with ice
water, or left naked in the snow overnight in winter time. Rusher
sent numerous reports to Himmler about his "experiments in
freezing and heating." One or two examples will give a complete idea of
them. One of the very first was a report presented on September 10, 1942
of the year:
“The subjects were immersed in water in full flight gear... with a hood.
Life jackets kept them afloat. Experiments were carried out
at a water temperature of 36.5 to 53.5 degrees Fahrenheit (2.5 to 12
degrees Celcius). In the first series of tests, the back of the cheeks and the base
the skulls were under water. In the second, the back of the neck and
cerebellum. The temperature was measured using an electric thermometer
stomach and rectum, which was 79.5 degrees respectively
Fahrenheit (27.5 degrees Celsius) and 79.7 degrees Fahrenheit (27.6
degrees Celsius). Death occurred only if the oblong
the brain and cerebellum were immersed in water.
At autopsy, after death in the specified conditions, it was found that
a large mass of blood, up to half a liter, accumulated in the cranial cavity. In heart
maximal dilatation of the right ventricle was regularly detected.
Subjects in such experiments inevitably died, despite all efforts to
rescue if body temperature dropped to 82.5 degrees Fahrenheit (28
degrees Celsius). Autopsy data clearly demonstrates the importance
heating the head and the need to protect the neck, which must be taken into account when
development of sponge protective overalls, which is currently underway
time".
The table which Dr. Rasher appended to his report is compiled on
based on six "fatal cases" and reflects the water temperature, temperature
body when removed from water, body temperature at the time of death,
duration of stay in water and time elapsed before the onset of
of death. The strongest man was able to stay in icy water for
for 100 minutes, the weakest - for 53.
Walter Neff, a camp prisoner who served as an orderly under Dr. Rascher, gave
testimony at the "Trial of Doctors", in which one of the
experiments on human hypothermia in ice water:
"It was the worst experiment ever
were carried out. Two Russian officers were brought from the prison barracks. Rusher
ordered to undress them and put them in a vat of ice water. Although usually subjects
lost consciousness within sixty minutes, but both Russians were in
fully conscious and after two and a half hours. All requests to Rasher
it was futile to euthanize them. Around the end of the third hour, one of the Russians
said to another: “Comrade, tell the officer to shoot us.” Another
replied that he did not expect mercy “from this fascist dog.” Both shook hands
hands to a friend with the words “Farewell, comrade”... These words were translated by Rasher
a young Pole, although in a slightly different form. Rusher went into his office.
The young Pole wanted to immediately put the two martyrs to sleep with Chloroform, but Rasher
soon returned and, snatching a pistol, threatened us... The experiment did not continue
less than five hours before death occurred."

The nominal leader of the first experiments in ice water was a certain
Dr. Holzlechner, Professor of Medicine at the University of Kiel. Helped him
some Dr. Finke. After working with Rusher for a couple of months, they came to the conclusion that
the possibilities of experimentation have been exhausted. After this, three doctors wrote
top secret 32-page report entitled "Experiments on
freezing a person" and sent him to Air Force headquarters. On their own initiative, 26 and
On October 27, 1942, a conference of German scientists was convened in Nuremberg
to discuss the results of their research. Medical aspects were discussed
emergency incidents on the high seas and in winter conditions. From
the testimony presented at the Doctors' Trial shows that
The conference was attended by 95 German scientists, including the most famous
doctors And although there was no doubt that the three doctors during
experiments deliberately brought a large number of people to death, they were not
not a single question was asked in this regard and, accordingly, not a single one was voiced
protest.
Professor Holzlechner (Perhaps Professor Holzlechner experienced
remorse. Arrested by the British, he committed suicide after
first interrogation. - Approx. author) and Dr. Finke had moved away from
experiments, but Dr. Rascher stubbornly continued them alone from October 1942
until May next year. Among other things, he wanted to conduct experiments,
which he called "dry freezing". He wrote to Himmler:
"Auschwitz is more suitable for conducting such tests than Dachau,
since the climate in Auschwitz is somewhat colder, and also because in this
camp experiments will attract less attention due to its larger area
(subjects scream loudly when frozen)."
For some reason it was not possible to transfer the experiments to Auschwitz, so Dr.
Rascher continued his research in Dachau, hoping for a real winter
weather.
“Thank God, severe cold has returned to us in Dachau,” he wrote
Himmler in the early spring of 1943. - Some subjects were on
outdoors for 14 hours at an outside temperature of 21 degrees Celsius
Fahrenheit (-6.1 Celsius), while body temperature dropped to 77
degrees Fahrenheit (-25 Celsius) and frostbite was observed
limbs..."
At the Doctors' Trial, witness Neff also gave an unprofessional statement
description of the "dry freezing experiments" conducted by his boss:
“One evening, a completely naked prisoner was taken out of the barracks and
put on a stretcher. They covered him with a sheet and poured water on him every hour.
a bucket of cold water. This continued until the morning. At the same time, it was regularly measured
temperature.
Later Dr. Rusher stated that it was a mistake to cover the subject
sheets, and then pour water... In the future, persons undergoing experiments will
should not be covered. The following experiment was carried out on ten
prisoners who were taken outside one by one, also naked."
As people froze, Dr. Rasher or his assistant
recorded temperature, heart function, respiration, etc. The silence of the night was often
were broken by the heartbreaking cries of the martyrs.
“Initially,” Neff explained to the court, “Rusher forbade conducting
tests under anesthesia. But the subjects raised such a cry that they continued
Rascher could no longer carry out experiments without anesthesia..."
The subjects were left to die, in Himmler's words, "as they were
deserved", in vats of ice water or naked on frozen ground
outside the barracks. Those who survived were quickly destroyed. But the valiant Germans
pilots and sailors, for whose benefit the “experiments” were carried out,
needed to be rescued after they made an emergency landing in
icy waters of the Arctic Ocean or landed on shackled
frosty expanses of Arctic Norway, Finland or Northern Russia. AND
the incomparable Dr. Rascher began "warming experiments" on
people who have become guinea pigs. He wanted to know what was the best
method of warming up a frozen person and what, accordingly, are the possibilities for
saving his life.
Heinrich Himmler immediately handed over to the corps those who worked tirelessly under him
the beginning of scientists recommending "practical solutions." He suggested to Rusher
try the method of warming with “animal heat”, but the doctor at first did not give
great importance to this idea. "Warming with animal warmth, be it the body
animal or woman, the process is too slow,” he wrote to the SS chief.
However, Himmler continued to persistently convince him:
"I am extremely interested in experiments with animal heat. Personally, I
I am convinced that such experiments will provide the best and most reliable
results".
Despite his skepticism, Dr. Rasher was not one to dare
ignore the offer coming from the leader of the SS. He just started
series of the most absurd "experiments" ever conducted,
recording them for future generations in all the repulsive details. From
women's concentration camp Ravensbrück sent him to Dachau four prisoners
women. However, involving one of them in the experiments (all of them took place as
prostitutes) embarrassed the doctor, and he decided to report this to his superiors:

"One of the admitted women has pronounced Nordic characteristics.
racial traits... I asked the girl why she voluntarily went to work
to a brothel, to which she replied: “To get out of the concentration camp.” When
I objected that it was a shame to be a corrupt woman, she answered without embarrassment:
“It’s better to spend six months in a brothel than six months in a concentration camp.”
My racial conscience is seething with anger at the thought of having to
exposed naked in front of racially inferior elements from
concentration camp, a girl who is outwardly the purest
sample of the Nordic race... Due to the above, I refuse to use
this girl for my experiments."
However, he used others whose hair was less blond and whose eyes
not so blue. The results of the experiments were duly presented to Himmler in
report dated February 12, 1942, marked "Secret".
"The subjects were cooled in a known way- with or without clothes -
V cold water at different temperatures... Removal from water was carried out at
reaching a rectal temperature of 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius)
Celsius). On eight occasions, subjects were placed between two naked
women on a wide bed. At the same time, the women were instructed to cling to
chilled person as tightly as possible. Then all three were covered
blankets.
Having regained consciousness, the subjects did not lose it again. They're fast
realized what was happening to them and pressed themselves tightly against their naked bodies
women. In this case, the temperature increased at approximately the same
speed, as in the subjects who were warmed by wrapping them in blankets.
The exception was four subjects who had sexual intercourse
when body temperature ranged from 86 to 89.5 degrees Fahrenheit (30
up to 33 degrees Celsius). These individuals developed a very rapid temperature rise,
which can only be compared with the effect hot bath".
To his surprise, Dr. Rascher discovered that one woman was warming
a frozen person faster than two.
"I attribute this to the fact that when warming up by one woman there is no
internal inhibition and the woman presses more tightly to the cooled one. IN
In this case, the return of full consciousness also occurred significantly
faster. In only one case was it noted that the subject did not regain consciousness and
his body temperature increased slightly. He died with symptoms
cerebral hemorrhages, which was later confirmed by an autopsy.”
To sum it up, this vile murderer concluded that heating the chilled
with the help of women "proceeds rather slowly" and that the effect of a hot bath
more effective.
“Only those subjects,” he concluded, “whose physical condition
allowed sexual intercourse, warmed up surprisingly quickly and returned to
normal physical condition extremely quickly."
According to the testimony of witnesses who spoke at the "Trial of Doctors", in general,
About 400 “freezing” experiments were carried out on 300 prisoners. IN
During the experiments, between 80 and 90 people died. The rest, with a few exceptions,
destroyed later, and some went crazy. By the way, Dr. himself
Rasher was not among those who testified at the trial. He
continued his bloody deeds, implementing numerous new plans, too
too numerous to talk about each separately. They continued until May
1944, when he and his wife were arrested by the SS, apparently not for
criminal "experiments" in killing people, and on charges "of
he and his wife resorted to deception in the story of the origin of their children."
Himmler, who bowed before German mothers, did not commit such treachery.
could demolish it. He sincerely believed that Frau Rascher was really starting to get excited
children aged forty-eight years. And he became furious when he learned that she was simply
kidnapped them. Therefore, Dr. Rascher was put in a bunker for political prisoners in
the Dachau concentration camp so familiar to him, and his wife was sent to
Ravensbrück, from where the doctor was supplied with prostitutes for “warming” experiments.
Not a single one left the camp alive. It is believed that Himmler is in one of his
the last orders ordered their liquidation, because they could turn out to be
too inconvenient witnesses.

Several of these unwanted witnesses did survive to see the trial. Seven of
they were sentenced to death and hanged - they defended their opinion to the end,
that deadly "experiments" are patriotic acts aimed at
good of the Fatherland. Dr. Herta Oberhäuser, the only one of those accused
The "doctors' trial" woman was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
She admitted to giving lethal injections to "five or six Polish
women" from hundreds who experienced all the torments of hell during various
"experiments" in Ravensbrück. A number of doctors, like the notorious Pokorny
who planned to sterilize millions of enemies were acquitted. Some
sincerely repented. At the second trial, where the junior medical officer was tried
staff, Dr. Edwin Katzenellenbogen, former faculty member
Harvard medical institute, asked for a death sentence.
“You put the seal of Cain on my forehead,” he exclaimed. “Any doctor,
he who committed the crimes of which I am accused deserves death."
sentenced to life imprisonment.

Nazi Germany, in addition to starting World War II, is also notorious for its concentration camps, as well as the horrors that happened there. The horror of the Nazi camp system consisted not only of terror and arbitrariness, but also of the colossal experiments on people that were carried out there. Scientific research was carried out on a grand scale, and its goals were so varied that it would take a long time to even name them.

In German concentration camps, scientific hypotheses were tested and various biomedical technologies were tested on living “human material”. War time dictated its priorities, so doctors were primarily interested in practical application scientific theories. For example, the possibility of maintaining people’s working capacity under conditions of excessive stress, blood transfusions with different Rh factors were studied, and new drugs were tested.

Among these monstrous experiments are pressure tests, experiments on hypothermia, the development of a vaccine against typhus, experiments with malaria, gas, sea water, poisons, sulfanilamide, sterilization experiments and many others.

In 1941, experiments were carried out with hypothermia. They were led by Dr. Rascher under the direct supervision of Himmler. The experiments were carried out in two stages. At the first stage, they found out what temperature a person could withstand and for how long, and the second stage was to determine ways to restore the human body after frostbite. To conduct such experiments, prisoners were taken out in winter without clothes for the whole night or placed in ice water. Hypothermia trials were conducted exclusively on men to simulate the conditions experienced by German soldiers on the Eastern Front, as the Nazis were ill-prepared for winter. For example, in one of the first experiments, prisoners were lowered into a container of water, the temperature of which ranged from 2 to 12 degrees, wearing pilot suits. At the same time, they were put on life jackets, which kept them afloat. As a result of the experiment, Rascher found that attempts to bring a person caught in ice water back to life are practically zero if the cerebellum was overcooled. This was the reason for the development of a special vest with a headrest that covered the back of the head and prevented the back of the head from plunging into the water.

The same Dr. Rascher in 1942 began conducting experiments on prisoners using pressure changes. Thus, doctors tried to establish how much air pressure a person could withstand and for how long. To conduct the experiment, a special pressure chamber was used, in which the pressure was regulated. There were 25 people in it at the same time. The purpose of these experiments was to help pilots and skydivers at high altitudes. According to one of the doctor's reports, the experiment was carried out on a 37-year-old Jew who was in good physical shape. Half an hour after the start of the experiment, he died.

200 prisoners took part in the experiment, 80 of them died, the rest were simply killed.

The Nazis also made large-scale preparations for the use of bacteriological agents. The emphasis was mainly on fast-moving diseases, plague, anthrax, typhus, that is, diseases that in a short time could cause mass infections and death of the enemy.

The Third Reich had large reserves of typhus bacteria. In the event of their mass use, it was necessary to develop a vaccine to disinfect the Germans. On behalf of the government, Dr. Paul began developing a vaccine against typhus. The first to experience the effects of vaccines were the prisoners of Buchenwald. In 1942, 26 Roma, who had previously been vaccinated, were infected with typhus there. As a result, 6 people died from progression of the disease. This result did not satisfy the management, since the mortality rate was high. Therefore, research was continued in 1943. And already on next year The improved vaccine was again tested in humans. But this time the victims of vaccination were prisoners of the Natzweiler camp. Dr. Chrétien conducted the experiments. 80 gypsies were selected for the experiment. They were infected with typhus in two ways: by injection and by airborne droplets. Of the total number of test subjects, only 6 people became infected, but even such a small number were not provided with any medical care. In 1944, all 80 people who were involved in the experiment either died from the disease or were shot by concentration camp guards.

In addition, other cruel experiments were carried out on prisoners in the same Buchenwald. So, in 1943-1944, experiments with incendiary mixtures were carried out there. Their goal was to solve problems associated with bomb explosions, when soldiers received phosphorus burns. Mostly Russian prisoners were used for these experiments.

Experiments with the genitals were also carried out here in order to identify the causes of homosexuality. They involved not only homosexuals, but also men of traditional orientation. One of the experiments was genital transplantation.

Also in Buchenwald, experiments were carried out to infect prisoners with yellow fever, diphtheria, smallpox, and also used poisonous substances. For example, to study the effect of poisons on the human body, they were added to the food of prisoners. As a result, some of the victims died, and some were immediately shot for autopsies. In 1944, all participants in this experiment were shot using poison bullets.

A series of experiments were also carried out at the Dachau concentration camp. Thus, back in 1942, some prisoners aged 20 to 45 were infected with malaria. In total, 1,200 people were infected. Permission to conduct the experiment was obtained by the leader, Dr. Pletner, directly from Himmler. The victims were bitten by malaria mosquitoes, and, in addition, they were also infused with sporozoans, which were taken from mosquitoes. Quinine, antipyrine, pyramidon, and also a special drug called “2516-Bering” were used for treatment. As a result, approximately 40 people died from malaria, about 400 died from complications of the disease, and another number died from excessive doses of medication.

Here, in Dachau, in 1944, experiments were carried out to convert sea water into drinking water. For the experiments, 90 gypsies were used, who were completely deprived of food and forced to drink only sea water.

No less terrible experiments were carried out at the Auschwitz concentration camp. So, in particular, throughout the entire period of the war, sterilization experiments were carried out there, the purpose of which was to identify a quick and effective way to sterilize a large number of people without much time and physical investment. During the experiment, thousands of people were sterilized. The procedure was carried out using surgery, x-rays and various medications. At first, injections with iodine or silver nitrate were used, but this method had a large number of side effects. Therefore, irradiation was more preferable. Scientists have found that a certain amount x-rays can prevent the human body from producing eggs and sperm. During the experiments, a large number of prisoners received radiation burns.

The experiments with twins conducted by Dr. Mengele in the Auschwitz concentration camp were particularly cruel. Before the war, he worked on genetics, so twins were especially “interesting” to him.

Mengele personally sorted the “human material”: the most interesting, in his opinion, were sent to experiments, the less hardy to labor, and the rest to the gas chamber.

The experiment involved 1,500 pairs of twins, of which only 200 survived. Mengele conducted experiments on changing eye color by injecting chemicals, which resulted in complete or temporary blindness. He also attempted to "create Siamese twins" by sewing twins together. In addition, he experimented with infecting one of the twins with an infection, after which he performed autopsies on both to compare the affected organs.

When Soviet troops approached Auschwitz, the doctor managed to escape to Latin America.

There were some experiments in one more German concentration camp- Ravensbrück. The experiments used women who were injected with bacteria of tetanus, staphylococcus, and gas gangrene. The purpose of the experiments was to determine the effectiveness of sulfonamide drugs.

The prisoners were given incisions, where shards of glass or metal were placed, and then bacteria were planted. After infection, the subjects were carefully monitored, recording changes in temperature and other signs of infection. In addition, experiments in transplantology and traumatology were conducted here. Women were deliberately mutilated, and to make it more convenient to monitor the healing process, sections of the body were cut out to the bone. Moreover, their limbs were often amputated, which were then taken to a neighboring camp and sewn on to other prisoners.

Not only did the Nazis abuse prisoners of concentration camps, but they also conducted experiments on “true Aryans.” Thus, a large burial was recently discovered, which was initially mistaken for Scythian remains. However, it was later established that there were German soldiers in the grave. The discovery horrified archaeologists: some of the bodies were decapitated, others had their shin bones sawed off, and others had holes along the spine. It was also found that during life people were exposed to chemicals, and incisions were clearly visible in many skulls. As it later turned out, these were victims of experiments by the Ahnenerbe, a secret organization of the Third Reich that was engaged in the creation of a superman.

Since it was immediately obvious that such experiments would involve a large number of casualties, Himmler took responsibility for all deaths. He did not consider all these horrors to be murder, because, according to him, concentration camp prisoners are not people.

Research ethics was updated after the end of World War II. In 1947, the Nuremberg Code was developed and adopted, which continues to protect the well-being of research participants. However, previously scientists did not hesitate to experiment on prisoners, slaves, and even members of their own families, violating all human rights. This list contains the most shocking and unethical cases.

10. Stanford Prison Experiment

In 1971, a team of Stanford University scientists led by psychologist Philip Zimbardo conducted a study of human reactions to restrictions on freedom in prison conditions. As part of the experiment, volunteers had to play the roles of guards and prisoners in basement building of the Faculty of Psychology, equipped as a prison. The volunteers quickly got used to their duties, however, contrary to the predictions of scientists, terrible and dangerous incidents began to occur during the experiment. A third of the “guards” showed pronounced sadistic tendencies, while many “prisoners” were psychologically traumatized. Two of them had to be excluded from the experiment ahead of time. Zimbardo, worried antisocial behavior subjects was forced to stop the study early.

9. Monstrous experiment

In 1939, a graduate student at the University of Iowa, Mary Tudor, under the guidance of psychologist Wendell Johnson, performed an equally shocking experiment on the orphans of the Davenport orphanage. The experiment was devoted to studying the influence of value judgments on children's speech fluency. The subjects were divided into two groups. During the training of one of them, Tudor gave positive assessments and praised her in every possible way. She subjected the speech of children from the second group to harsh criticism and ridicule. The experiment ended disastrously, which is why it later got its name. Many healthy children did not recover from the injury and suffered from speech problems throughout their lives. A public apology for the Monstrous Experiment was made by the University of Iowa only in 2001.

8. Project 4.1

The medical study, known as Project 4.1, was carried out by US scientists on residents of the Marshall Islands who became victims of radioactive contamination after the explosion of the American thermonuclear device Castle Bravo in the spring of 1954. In the first 5 years after the disaster on Rongelap Atoll, the number of miscarriages and stillbirths doubled, and developmental disorders appeared in surviving children. In the next decade, many of them developed thyroid cancer. By 1974, a third had developed neoplasms. As experts later concluded, the purpose of the medical program to help the local residents of the Marshall Islands was to use them as guinea pigs in a “radioactive experiment.”

7. Project MK-ULTRA

The secret CIA program MK-ULTRA to research means of mind manipulation was launched in the 1950s. The essence of the project was to study the influence of various psychotropic substances on human consciousness. The participants in the experiment were doctors, military personnel, prisoners and other representatives of the US population. The subjects, as a rule, did not know that they were being injected with drugs. One of the CIA's secret operations was called "Midnight Climax". In several brothels in San Francisco, male test subjects were selected, injected with LSD into their bloodstreams, and then filmed for study. The project lasted at least until the 1960s. In 1973, the CIA destroyed most of the MK-ULTRA program documents, causing significant difficulties in the subsequent US Congressional investigation into the matter.

6. Project "Aversia"

From the 70s to the 80s of the 20th century, an experiment was conducted in the South African army aimed at changing the gender of soldiers with non-traditional sexual orientation. During the top-secret Operation Aversia, about 900 people were injured. Suspected homosexuals were identified by army doctors with the assistance of priests. In a military psychiatric ward, subjects were subjected to hormonal therapy and electric shock. If soldiers could not be “cured” in this way, they faced forced chemical castration or sex reassignment surgery. The "aversion" was led by psychiatrist Aubrey Levin. In the 90s, he immigrated to Canada, not wanting to stand trial for the atrocities he committed.

5. Experiments on people in North Korea

North Korea has repeatedly been accused of conducting research on prisoners that violates human rights, however, the country's government denies all accusations, saying that the state treats them humanely. However, one of the former prisoners told the shocking truth. A terrible, if not terrifying, experience appeared before the eyes of the prisoner: 50 women, under the threat of reprisals against their families, were forced to eat poisoned cabbage leaves and died, suffering from bloody vomiting and rectal bleeding to the accompaniment of the screams of other victims of the experiment. There are eyewitness accounts of special laboratories equipped for experiments. Entire families became their targets. After a standard medical examination, the rooms were sealed and filled with asphyxiating gas, and the “researchers” watched through the glass from above as parents tried to save their children, giving them artificial respiration as long as they had strength left.

4. Toxicological laboratory of the USSR special services

A top-secret scientific unit, also known as the "Chamber", under the leadership of Colonel Mayranovsky, was engaged in experiments in the field of toxic substances and poisons such as ricin, digitoxin and mustard gas. Experiments were carried out, as a rule, on prisoners sentenced to capital punishment. Poisons were served to subjects under the guise of medicine along with food. The main goal of scientists was to find an odorless and tasteless toxin that would not leave traces after the death of the victim. Ultimately, scientists were able to discover the poison they were looking for. According to eyewitness accounts, after taking C-2, the test subject weakened, became quiet, as if he was shrinking, and died within 15 minutes.

3. Tuskegee Syphilis Study

The infamous experiment began in 1932 in the Alabama town of Tuskegee. For 40 years, scientists literally refused to treat patients with syphilis in order to study all stages of the disease. The victims of the experiment were 600 poor African-American sharecroppers. The patients were not informed about their illness. Instead of giving a diagnosis, doctors told people they had “bad blood” and offered free food and treatment in exchange for participating in the program. During the experiment, 28 men died from syphilis, 100 from subsequent complications, 40 infected their wives, and 19 children received a congenital disease.

2. "Unit 731"

Members of a special detachment of the Japanese armed forces under the leadership of Shiro Ishii were engaged in experiments in the field of chemical and biological weapons. In addition, they are responsible for the most horrific experiments on people that history knows. The detachment's military doctors dissected living subjects, amputated the limbs of prisoners and sewed them to other parts of the body, and deliberately infected men and women with sexually transmitted diseases through rape in order to subsequently study the consequences. The list of Unit 731 atrocities is enormous, but many of its employees were never punished for their actions.

1. Nazi experiments on people

Medical experiments carried out by the Nazis during World War II claimed a huge number of lives. In concentration camps, scientists carried out the most sophisticated and inhumane experiments. At Auschwitz, Dr. Josef Mengele conducted studies of more than 1,500 pairs of twins. Various chemicals were injected into test subjects' eyes to see if their color would change, and in an attempt to create conjoined twins, test subjects were stitched together. Meanwhile, the Luftwaffe tried to find a way to treat hypothermia by forcing prisoners to lie in icy water for several hours, and at the Ravensbrück camp, researchers deliberately wounded prisoners and infected them with infections in order to test sulfonamides and other drugs.

The medical experiments of the Nazis on people in concentration camps, even today, terrify the most resilient minds. A whole series of scientific experiments were carried out by the Nazis on prisoners during the Second World War. Typically, most experiments resulted in the prisoner's death, disfigurement, or incapacitation. The experiments were carried out not only for technological breakthroughs that were being developed to help German soldiers in combat situations, but also to create new weapons and techniques for treating wounded German soldiers. The goal was also to confirm the racial theory that the Third Reich adhered to.

Doctor Devil

January 30, 1933, Berlin. Professor Blots Clinic. An ordinary medical institution, which competing doctors sometimes call the “devil’s clinic.” Alfred Blots is not liked by his medical colleagues, but they still listen to his opinion. It is known in the scientific community that he was the first to study the effects of poisonous gases on the human genetic system. But Blots did not make the results of his research public. On January 30, Alfred Blots sent a congratulatory telegram to the new Chancellor of Germany, in which he proposed a program of new research in the field of genetics. He received the answer: “Your research is of interest to Germany. They must be continued. Adolf Gitler".

In 1933, Hitler believed German geneticists. They promised the Fuhrer that within 20-40 years they would raise a new person, aggressive and obedient to the authorities. The conversation was about cyborgs, biological soldiers of the Third Reich. Hitler was excited about this idea. During one of Blots' lectures in Munich, a scandal broke out. When asked what the doctor proposed to do with the patients, Blots answered “sterilize or kill.” In the mid-30s, a new symbol of Germany appeared, the glass woman. After Hitler came to power, the Fuhrer actively supported the development of German medicine and biology. Funding for scientific research increased tenfold, and doctors were declared the elite. In the Nazi state, this profession was considered the most important, since its representatives were responsible for the purity of the German race. According to Blots, the world was originally divided into “healthy” and “unhealthy” peoples. This is confirmed by genetic and medical research data. The goal of eugenics is to save humanity from disease and self-destruction. According to German scientists, Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, Chinese, and blacks are nations with an inadequate psyche, weak immunity, and an increased ability to transmit diseases. The salvation of the nation lies in the sterilization of some peoples and the controlled birth rate of others. In the mid-30s, on a small estate near Berlin, a secret facility was located. This is the Fuhrer's medical school, its activities are patronized by Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy. Every year, medical workers, obstetricians and doctors gathered here. It was impossible to come to school at will. The students were selected by the Nazis, the party. SS doctors selected personnel who took advanced training courses at the medical school. This school trained doctors to work in concentration camps, but at first these personnel were used for the sterilization program in the second half of the 30s.

In 1937, Karl Brant became the official boss of German medicine. This man is responsible for the health of the Germans. According to the sterilization program, Karl Brant and his subordinates could use euthanasia to get rid of mentally ill people, disabled people and children with disabilities. Thus, the Third Reich got rid of “extra mouths”, because military policy does not imply the presence of social support. Brant completed his task - before the war, the German nation was cleared of psychopaths, disabled people and freaks. Then they destroyed more than 100 thousand adults, and for the first time used gas chambers.

In 1947, there were 23 doctors in the dock at Nuremberg. They were tried for turning medical science into a monster that was subservient to the interests of the Third Reich. Here are a number of those terrible and bloody experiments on people that were carried out within the walls of the concentration camps:

Pressure

The German medic Hauptsturmführer SS Sigmund Rascher was too concerned about the problems that Third Reich pilots could have at an altitude of 20 kilometers. Therefore, as the chief physician at the Dachau concentration camp, he created special pressure chambers in which he placed prisoners and experimented with pressure. After this, the scientist opened the skulls of the victims and examined their brains. 200 people took part in this experiment. 80 died on the surgical table, the remaining 120 were shot. After the war, Sigmund Rascher was executed for his inhuman crimes.

Homosexuality

Homosexuals have no place on the planet. At least that's what the Nazis thought. Therefore, for this purpose, by secret decree of the SS, led by Dr. Karl Wernet, a series of hormonal experiments were carried out on homosexual prisoners. In 1943, Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler, having learned about the research of the Danish doctor Wernet on the “cure of homosexuality,” invites him to conduct research in the Reich at the Buchenwald base. Experiments on humans were started by Wernet in July 1944. Some of the prisoners entered into the experiment voluntarily, in the hope of being released from the camp after “healing”; the rest were forced. In the groin of prisoners gay Capsules with “male hormone” were sewn in, then the healed were sent to the Ravensbrück concentration camp, which held many women convicted of prostitution. The camp leadership instructed the women to approach the “healed” men and have sexual intercourse with them. History is silent about the results of such experiments.

Sterilization

Carl Clauberg was a German doctor who became famous for sterilization during World War II. From March 1941 to January 1945, the scientist tried to find a way to make millions of people infertile in the shortest possible time. Clauberg succeeded: the doctor injected prisoners of Auschwitz, Revensbrück and other concentration camps with iodine and silver nitrate. Although such injections had a lot of side effects (bleeding, pain and cancer), they successfully sterilized the person. But Clauberg’s favorite was radiation exposure: a person was invited to a special chamber with a chair, sitting on which he filled out questionnaires. And then the victim simply left, not suspecting that she would never be able to have children again. Often such exposures resulted in serious radiation burns.

It is also known that fascist doctors, on orders from higher circles, Nazi Germany, sterilized more than four hundred thousand people.

White phosphorus

From November 1941 to January 1944, drugs that could treat white phosphorus burns were tested on the human body in Buchenwald. It is not known whether the Nazis managed to invent a panacea, but these experiments took away many of the lives of prisoners.

Poisons

The food in Buchenwald was not the best. This was especially felt from December 1943 to October 1944. At this time, the Nazis carried out experiments with poisons over the postmortem in the Bachenwald concentration camp, where approximately 250 thousand people were imprisoned. Various poisons were secretly mixed into the prisoners' food and their reactions were observed. Prisoners died after poisoning, and were also killed by concentration camp guards to perform autopsies on the body, through which the poison did not have time to spread. It is known that in the fall of 1944, prisoners were shot with bullets that contained poison, and then the gunshot wounds were examined.

In September 1944, the Germans got tired of messing around with experimental subjects. Therefore, all participants in the experiment were shot.

Malaria

These Nazi medical experiments took place from early 1942 to mid-1945, in Nazi Germany at the Dachau concentration camp. Research was carried out during which German doctors and pharmacists worked on the invention of a vaccine against an infectious disease - malaria. For the experiment, physically healthy experimental subjects aged from 25 to 40 years were specially selected, and they were infected with the help of mosquitoes that carried the infection. After the prisoners were infected, they were prescribed a course of treatment with various drugs and injections, which in turn were also at the testing stage. Over one thousand people were forced to participate in the experiments. More than five hundred people died during the experiments. The German physician, SS Sturmbannführer Kurt Plötner, was responsible for the research.

Mustard gas

From the autumn of 1939 to the spring of 1945, near the city of Oranienburg in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, as well as in other camps in Germany, experiments were carried out with mustard gas. The purpose of the research was to identify the most effective methods of treating wounds after skin exposure to this type of gas. Prisoners were doused with mustard gas, which, when it reached the surface of the skin, caused severe chemical burns. Afterwards, doctors studied the wounds to determine the most effective medicine against this type of burn.

Sea water

Scientific experiments were carried out in the Dachau concentration camp, approximately from the summer to autumn of 1944. The purpose of the experiments was to identify how fresh water could be obtained from sea water, that is, one that would be suitable for human consumption. A group of prisoners was created, which included about 90 Roma. During the experiment, they did not receive food and drank only sea water. As a result, their bodies were so dehydrated that people licked the moisture from the freshly washed floor in the hope of getting at least a drop of water. The person responsible for the research was Wilhelm Beiglböck, who received fifteen years in prison at the Nuremberg doctors' trial.

Sulfanilamide

From the summer of 1942 to the autumn of 1943, research was carried out on the use of antibacterial drugs. One such drug is sulfonamide, a synthetic antimicrobial agent. People were deliberately shot in the leg and infected with anaerobic gangrene, tetanus and streptococcus bacteria. Blood circulation was stopped by applying tourniquets on both sides of the wound. Crushed glass and wood shavings were also poured into the wound. The resulting bacterial inflammation was treated with sulfonamide, as well as other drugs, to see how effective they were. The Nazi medical experiments were led by Karl Franz Gebhardt, who was on friendly terms with the Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler himself.

Experiments on twins

Nazi medical experiments on children who were unlucky enough to be born twins and end up in concentration camps at the time were carried out by Nazi scientists to detect differences and similarities in the DNA structure of the twins. The doctor involved in this kind of experiment was named Joseph Mengele. According to historians, during his work Joseph killed more than four hundred thousand prisoners in gas chambers. The German scientist conducted his experiments on 1,500 pairs of twins, of which only two hundred pairs survived. Basically, all experiments on children were carried out in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

The twins were divided into groups according to age and status, and were placed in specialized barracks. The experiments were truly monstrous. Various injections were injected into the twins' eyes. chemicals. They also tried to artificially change the color of children's eyes. It is also known that the twins were sewn together, thereby trying to recreate the phenomenon of Siamese twins. Experiments on changing eye color often ended in the death of the experimental subject, as well as infection of the retina and complete loss of vision. Joseph Mengele very often infected one of the twins, and then performed an autopsy on both children and compared the organs of the affected and normal organisms.

Frostbite

German soldiers on the Eastern Front had a hard time in winter: they had a hard time enduring the harsh Russian winters. Therefore, Sigmund Rascher conducted experiments in Dachau and Auschwitz with the help of which he tried to find a way to quickly resuscitate military personnel after frostbite. To this end, at the very beginning of the war, the German air force conducted a series of experiments on hypothermia of the human body. The method of cooling a person was the same; the experimental subject was placed in a barrel of ice water for several hours. It is also known for sure that there was another mocking method of cooling the human body. The prisoner was simply thrown out into the cold weather, naked, and kept there for three hours. Most often, experiments were carried out on men to study ways in which fascist troops could easily endure severe frosts on the Eastern European front. It was the frosts, for which the German troops were not prepared, that caused Germany’s defeat on the Eastern Front.

A German physician and part-time Ahnenerbe employee, Sigmund Rascher, reported only to Reich Minister of the Interior Heinrich Himmler. In 1942, at a conference on ocean exploration and winter period year, Rascher gave a speech from which one could learn about the results of his medical experiments in concentration camps. The research was divided into several stages. At the first stage, German scientists studied how long a person could live with minimum temperature. The second stage was the resuscitation and rescue of a test subject who had suffered severe frostbite.

Experiments were also conducted to study how to instantly warm a person. The first method of warming up was to lower the subject into a tank of hot water. In the second case, the frozen man was settled on a naked woman, and then another one was settled on him. Women for the experiment were selected from among those held in the concentration camp. The best result was achieved in the first case.

Research results have shown that it is almost impossible to save a person exposed to frostbite in water if the back of the head is also exposed to frostbite. In this regard, special life jackets were developed that prevented the back of the head from falling into the water. This made it possible to protect the head of the person wearing the vest from frostbite of brain stem cells. These days, almost all life jackets have a similar headrest.

After the war, all these experiments carried out by the Nazis on people served as the reason for the Nuremberg Medical Tribunal, as well as the impetus for the development of the Nuremberg Code of Medical Ethics.

Colorless Coca Cola in World War II

Recently, the world-famous Coca-Cola company introduced a transparent drink with lemon flavor in Japan. But did you know that this is not the first time that Coca-Cola has released a transparent one? The first colorless Coca-Cola was produced back in 1940

Special Operation "Tracer"

During World War II, the British seriously feared that the Germans would be able to seize control of Gibraltar, cutting off Britain from the rest of the British Empire. It was decided to develop Operation Tracer.

The Mystery of the Terracotta Army

One of the biggest attractions of China is the Great Wall of China, but besides it, for some reason, there is a lesser-known, but nevertheless amazing Terracotta Army in China. This structure can truly compete with the pyramids.

The tragedy of one child prodigy

He was the most famous child prodigy of the early 20th century, becoming the youngest student in Harvard history at the age of 11. And since then he could not take a single step without the attention of annoying reporters. But in search of solitude, the young man was forced to hide from the press

Charging drones in the air

Co-founder of wireless technology company Global Transmission Energy (GET), William Kalman said his company has developed technology to charge drones in flight by creating an electromagnetic energy cloud.

A “planetary health diet” has been developed

According to the international EAT-Lancet Commission, only the Planetary Health Diet they developed will be able to feed the hungry, improve the health of the world's population and protect our planet from harmful greenhouse emissions, preserving it for future generations.

Plants hear the buzzing of bees

Scientists at Tel Aviv University have published research showing that flowers of the Oenothera drummondii plant produce sweeter nectar within three minutes when exposed to sound cues reproducing the buzzing sound of a bee.

Caterpillar imitating a snake

The publication talks about a funny example of mimicry when a harmless caterpillar of the Hemeroplanes Triptolemus butterfly from the hawk moth family, in order to scare away its enemies and not get to the birds for lunch, transforms into a formidable rattlesnake.

MAZ-2000 “Perestroika”

We have already talked about various futuristic projects in history on the pages of the site. But every time it turns out that this is not only not everything, but even just the beginning. An example of this is the MAZ-2000 “Perestroika”.

How to deal with rudeness?

How to deal with rudeness? At the bus stop, in a nearby store, in the office, on an airplane, at a parent-teacher meeting, and even in line for theater tickets - it seems that we are being rude everywhere. Rudeness has long been a characteristic feature of society, but how to deal with it?

In 1947, there were 23 doctors in the dock at Nuremberg. They were tried for turning medical science into a monster that was subservient to the interests of the Third Reich.

What is "eugenics"?

In the 20s, Alfred Blots traveled around the country giving lectures on what “eugenics” was. He considers himself the founder of a new science, his main idea is “racial purity of the nation.” Some call it the struggle for a healthy lifestyle. Blots argues that the human future can be simulated at the genetic level, in the womb, and this will happen at the end of the 20th century. They listened to him and were surprised, but no one called him “the devil doctor.” Yudin Boris Grigorievich, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, claims that “eugenics is a science (although it can hardly be called a science”) that deals with the genetic improvement of humans.”
In 1933, Hitler believed German geneticists. They promised the Fuhrer that within 20-40 years they would raise a new person, aggressive and obedient to the authorities. The conversation was about cyborgs, biological soldiers of the Third Reich. Hitler was excited about this idea.
During one of Blots' lectures in Munich, a scandal broke out. When asked what the doctor proposed to do with the sick, Blots replied “sterilize or kill,” and that this was precisely the purpose of eugenics. After this, the lecturer was booed, and the term “eugenics” appeared on newspaper pages.
In the mid-30s, a new symbol of Germany appeared, the glass woman. This symbol was even shown at the World Exhibition in Paris. Eugenics was not invented by Hitler, but by doctors. They wanted good for the German people, but it all ended in concentration camps and experiments on people. And it all started with a glass woman.
Boris Yudin claims that doctors “incited” German leaders to Nazism. At a time when this term did not yet exist, they began to practice eugenics, which in Germany was called racial hygiene. Then, when Hitler and his associates came to power, it became clear that it would be possible to sell the idea of racial hygiene. From Professor Burle’s book, “Science and the Swastika”: “After Hitler came to power, the Fuhrer actively supported the development of German medicine and biology. Funding for scientific research increased tenfold, and doctors were declared the elite. In the Nazi state, this profession was considered the most important, since its representatives were responsible for the purity of the German race.”

"Human Hygiene"

Dresden, Museum of Human Hygiene. This scientific institution was under the personal patronage of Hitler and Himmler. The main task of the museum is mass propaganda of healthy lifestyle. It was in the Museum of Human Hygiene that a terrible plan for sterilization of the population was developed, which Hitler supported. Hitler insisted that only healthy Germans had children, so the German people would ensure the “thousand-year existence of the Third Reich.” Those who suffer from mental illness and physical disabilities should not make their offspring suffer. This speech had to do not so much with individuals as with entire nations.

In the hands of Hitler, eugenics turned into the science of racial murder. And the first victims of eugenics were the Jews, because in Germany they were declared an “unclean race.” According to Hitler, the ideal German race should not “contaminate” its blood by mixing with Jews. This idea was supported by doctors of the Third Reich.
Eugenics professors developed laws of racial purity. According to the laws, Jews did not have the right to work in schools, government agencies, or teach at universities. And first of all, according to doctors, it was necessary to clear the scientific and medical ranks of Jews. Science was becoming an elite closed society.
In the mid-20s, Germany had the most advanced science. All scientists and doctors who worked in the field of genetics, biology, obstetrics and gynecology considered it prestigious to undergo an internship in Germany. At that time, a third of doctors were Jews, but after the great purge in 1933-1935, German medicine became completely Aryan. Himmler actively recruited doctors into the SS, and many joined because they were supporters of the Nazi cause.
According to Blots, the world was originally divided into “healthy” and “unhealthy” peoples. This is confirmed by genetic and medical research data. The goal of eugenics is to save humanity from disease and self-destruction. According to German scientists, Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, Chinese, and blacks are nations with an inadequate psyche, weak immunity, and an increased ability to transmit diseases. The salvation of the nation lies in the sterilization of some peoples and the controlled birth rate of others.
In the mid-30s, on a small estate near Berlin, a secret facility was located. This is the Fuhrer's medical school, its activities are patronized by Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy. Every year, medical workers, obstetricians and doctors gathered here. You couldn’t come to school of your own free will. The students were selected by the Nazis, the party. SS doctors selected personnel who took advanced training courses at the medical school. This school trained doctors to work in concentration camps, but at first these personnel were used for the sterilization program in the second half of the 30s.
In 1937, Karl Brant became the official boss of German medicine. This man is responsible for the health of the Germans. According to the sterilization program, Karl Brant and his subordinates could use euthanasia to get rid of mentally ill people, disabled people and children with disabilities. Thus, the Third Reich got rid of “extra mouths”, because military policy does not imply the presence of social support. Brant completed his task - before the war, the German nation was cleared of psychopaths, disabled people and freaks. Then more than 100 thousand adults were killed, and gas chambers were used for the first time.

Unit T-4

September 1939, Germany attacked Poland. The Fuhrer clearly expressed his attitude towards the Poles: “The Poles must be slaves of the Third Reich, because at the moment the Russians are beyond our reach. But not a single person capable of governing this country should remain alive." Since 1939, Nazi doctors will begin to work with the so-called “Slavic material”. The death factories began their work; there were one and a half million people in Auschwitz alone. According to the plan, 75-90% of those entering were to immediately go into gas chambers, and the remaining 10% of people were to become material for monstrous medical experiments. The children's blood was used to treat German soldiers in military hospitals. According to the historian Zalessky, the rate of blood sampling was extremely high, sometimes even all the blood was taken. Medical personnel from the T-4 unit were developing new ways of selecting people for destruction.

The experiments at Auschwitz were led by Joseph Mengel. The prisoners nicknamed him “the angel of death.” Tens of thousands of people became victims of his experiments. He had a laboratory and dozens of professors and doctors who selected children and twins. The twins received blood transfusions and organ transplants from each other. Sisters were forced to bear children from their brothers. Forced gender reassignment operations were carried out. There have been attempts to change the color of a child's eyes by injecting various chemicals into the eyes, amputating organs, and attempting to sew children together. Of the 3 thousand twins who came to Mengele, only three hundred survived. His name became a household word for a killer doctor. He dissected live babies and tested women with high-voltage electric shocks to find out the limit of endurance. But this was only the tip of the iceberg of killer doctors. Other groups of doctors conducted experiments with low temperatures: how low a degree a person can withstand. What is the most effective way for a person to become hypothermic, and what is the best way to resuscitate him. The influence of phosgene and mustard gas on the human body was tested. They found out how long a person could drink sea water and performed bone transplants. They were looking for a remedy that could speed up or slow down human growth. We treated gay men.
With the outbreak of hostilities on the military front, hospitals were overcrowded with wounded German soldiers, and their treatment required new techniques. Therefore, they began a new series of experiments on prisoners, causing them injuries similar to the wounds of German soldiers. Then they were treated different ways, finding out which methods are effective. Shrapnel fragments were injected to determine the stages at which operations were needed. Everything was carried out without anesthesia, and tissue infections led to the amputation of the prisoner’s limbs.
To find out what danger a pilot faced when an airplane cabin depressurized at high altitude, the Nazis put prisoners in a low-pressure chamber and recorded the body's reaction. Experiments were conducted on the use of euthanasia, sterilization, and the development of infectious diseases such as hepatitis, typhus and malaria. They infected - cured - infected again until the person died. They experimented with poisons, adding them to prisoners' food or shooting them with poisonous bullets.
These experiments were carried out not by sadists, but by professional doctors from special unit SS T-4. By 1944, the monstrous experiments became known in America. This caused unconditional condemnation, but the results of the experiments were of interest to the intelligence services, military departments, and some scientists. That is why Nuremberg trials The murder of doctors ended only in 1948, and by that time the case materials had disappeared without a trace, or ended up in US research centers, including materials on “Practical Medicine of the Third Reich.”