WHAT WERE THE NAZI MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS:
During the Holocaust, the Nazi party conducted a series of medical experiments that inmates were forced to participate in, they did not willingly volunteer. Most of these experiments were painful, and often resulted in permanent disability or death. Most of the experiments revolved around three different categories. The first category was "designed to determine the maximum altitude from which crews of damaged aircraft could parachute to safety." The second category involved "developing and testing pharmaceuticals and treatment methods for injuries and illnesses which German military and occupation personnel encountered in the field." Lastly, the third category " sought to advance the racial and ideological tenets of the Nazi worldview. "
During the Holocaust, the Nazi party conducted a series of medical experiments that inmates were forced to participate in, they did not willingly volunteer. Most of these experiments were painful, and often resulted in permanent disability or death. Most of the experiments revolved around three different categories. The first category was "designed to determine the maximum altitude from which crews of damaged aircraft could parachute to safety." The second category involved "developing and testing pharmaceuticals and treatment methods for injuries and illnesses which German military and occupation personnel encountered in the field." Lastly, the third category " sought to advance the racial and ideological tenets of the Nazi worldview. "
Look through through the photos below to see the graphic and horrendous effects on the experiments. The photo on the top left represents a victim immersed in ice water. The photo on the top right represents a scientist hoping to make ocean water drinkable. The bottom left represents a man in a compression chamber. The bottom right represents victims of the experiments at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Click here to learn and read more about the actual details and types of experiments the Nazi scientists conducted.
Some of the experiments included:
Some of the experiments included:
- Freezing / Hypothermia
- Genetics
- Infectious Diseases
- Interrogation and Torture
- Killing / Genocide
- High Altitude
- Pharmacological
- Sterilization
- Surgery
- Traumatic Injuries
Dr. Joseph Mengele, nicknamed The Angel of Death, was part of the Schutzstaffel organization, under Adolf Hitler. Mengele was known for his cruel medical experimentation on camp inmates, especially with identical and fraternal twins. After the experiments, most patients were murdered and the bodies were dissected. Mengele also hoped to find the secret of changing eye color by injecting chemicals into the eyes of many children. Mengele also collected tissue samples and body parts to record the "degeneration of Jewish and Gypsy blood."
Below are a few images from the Joseph Mengele's journal that he kept throughout his time at the concentration camp. |
Watch the video below for about four minutes to grasp a thorough understanding of Dr. Joseph Mengele and the purpose of his experiments.
Click here to learn and read about Eva Mozes Kor traumatizing experience at the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz and how Dr. Joseph Mengele used Kor and her twin sister for medical experimentation. Quote from Kor: "The experiments lasted six to eight hours. We had to sit naked while every part of our bodies were measured, poked and compared to charts and photographs. Every movement was noted. I felt like an animal in a cage. Three times a week we went to the blood lab where we were injected with germs and chemicals and they took a lot of blood from us." |
Jadwiga Dzido:
Dzido was deported to concentration camp Ravensbrück in March of 1941. Here she was exposed to medical experiments where scientists tested the effectiveness of sulfonamide. Dzido has been left with multiple scars on her left leg due to the incisions from the scientists that were contaminated with bacteria, dirt and slivers of glass. The area quickly became inflamed and she was treated with sulfonamide drugs.
To read mores about Jadwiga Dzido and her story click here.
Similar to Jadwiga Dzido, Vladislava Karolewska also was sent to concentration camp Ravensbrück to participate in medical experiments regarding bone regeneration.
Click here to read more of Karolewska's scarring story and testimony against the doctors on December 20, 1946, in Nuremberg, Germany.
CHILDREN OF THE EXPERIMENTS:
Children were very vulnerable during the Holocoast and it is estimated that about 1.5 million children including Jewish, Gypsy, German, Polish and children of the Soviet Union were murdered. Nazi's categorized the children into two categories based on there ideological views or as a measure of preventative study: unwanted or dangerous. At a young age the children were taken from there homes and "stripped" from there childhood to face medical experimentation. Below is one of the stories of young individuals and there relationships with the experimentation.
Jacqueline Morganstern: On June 20th , 1944 Jacqueline and the rest of her family was deported to Auschwitz death camp. However, after her mother's death she was sent to a special childrens' barrack but was later transferred to the Neuengamme concentration camp at the request of Dr. Kurt Heissmeyer. Here, Jacqueline, along with the other children, were given injections of tuberculosis cultures. She quickly became ill and was then operated on because Heissmeyere wanted to find out how her glands had reacted to the tuberculosis. Three months later, the children were injected with morphine and then hanged one by one.
To read more stories click here. |